The Boy With The Freckles
by AnimeXCats333
Summary: A girl from Ace's past comes back all of a sudden and joins the Whitebeard Pirates to stay with him. When Ace is captured by the Marines, she will defy all the odds to save her childhood friend... or maybe something more than just that. Story contains: OC x Ace, the Mizu Mizu no Mi, High-ranking Whitebeard Pirate OC, Ace surviving the war. Please avoid reading if you dislike Sues.
1. Prologue

Prologue-

She came from a time before Luffy. Before Sabo even. How old was he then? 7 probably.

Where was she now? , He had often wondered. It had been at least ten years since she had said goodbye to him, on those shores where she set out for the world.

Thatch appeared at the door. "Ace? Stop daydreaming and c'mere! There's an enemy ship nearby. Time to have fun!"  
"I'll be right with you." Ace called out from where he sat.

Well... He thought as he lifted his feet from the table... What she had promised that day as her small boat departed hadn't been forgotten.

"The sea always brings people together. I'll see you again someday on that vast ocean, that's a promise!"

He smiled just thinking of her voice. Although, he didn't know just how soon that promise was about to be fulfilled.

Keep reading!


	2. Girl From The Past! Enter Holly!

**Chapter 1:**

**Well, I decided to do a solely One Piece Fiction. Sadly, I wasn't able to continue wiAnyway enjoy! **

**-A.X.C.333-**

The pirate he had previously been burning crumpled to the ground.  
"Seriously... These guys must've been dumb to pose as pirates with bounties. Although they had done a good job copying the flag." Ace sighed looking around. "Thatch! Think that's all of them. Except for that weasel of a captain. He's probably hidden somewhere, waiting for us to leave."

Thatch frowned. "Perhaps we should check the captain's cabin."

Suddenly, the door of the cabin in question swung open, followed with the phony captain flying out of it, pretty much unconscious.

A girl's voice spoke out from the shadowy unlit cabin. "Oh don't worry. I took care of him already."

Instantly Ace turned to the cabin, his attention caught.  
"Ho... Holly?" He stared in disbelief as the girl strode out of the cabin.  
"Miss me?" she said grinning, obviously enjoying his reaction.

She had grown, was the first reaction Ace had. She had developed a curvy figure now, and her dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail, instead of the short messy style she had kept as a child. Her skin was still as fair as ever.  
The teasing attitude had developed too, along with her signature smirk.

She hopped down perfectly from the wooden deck above, and headed straight for Ace.

"Don't just look at me, look at yourself. You've actually developed a body that would give the enemy warning that you could do some real damage. Unlike the surprise I received when some typical looking 7 year old knocked my tree over when we first met."

Thatch walked over to the pair, obviously trying hard to stifle a laugh.  
"You guys know each other?"  
She smiled, patting his head and ruffling his hair like he was a child, "Me and Freckles here go way back."  
By now, the fourth and second division members were trying their upmost hardest not to burst out laughing. Unfortunately their hardest wasn't enough.

"Yeah sure. But what are you doing on a ship like this?" Ace glared at her as some of his division members were practically killing themselves as they doubled over with laughter.

He hadn't seen this kind of cheeky side in someone outside of the crew since he had become commander; only an idiot would make the Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division Commander annoyed. But she knew very well that he wouldn't harm her.

"Me? Well I met some idiots," she said pointing at the unconscious captain, "Who begged me to help them get through to the New World, don't know what for, think it was to win a bet made during a drunken haze of confidence. Considering you've become quite famous, I knew that's where you'd be, so I played along, and earned some quick cash as well," She held up sack that was practically bursting with belis, "I was planning to ditch these fools tonight, but you've come along with that perfect timing of yours, Freckles."

Thatch, who was recovering from his laughter, took one glance at Ace's freckles, and started falling over, guffawing loudly again. Holly smirked at Ace, who was definitely NOT enjoying his humiliation. Thatch was the type would keep quiet about this type of thing for about 5 seconds before the entire crew knew, and that was considering the others said nothing.

"Anyway, Freckles, I'd come to ask you a favor. Thing is, I'd like to join the Whitebeard Pirates." Ace immediately opened his mouth to object but she continued. "Oh I can fight all right. I can use Haki and..." Her hand turned to water; "I ate the Mizu Mizu No Mi some time ago. Before you ask how its possible for a devil fruit to have such a conflicting power with its weakness, I'll explain.

Typically, all devil fruit users are all non-agreeable with water right? Well there's a legend to explain this. In each of the devil fruits, it is believed that they have their own personal demon inside the fruit that contain the power. According to the legend, these demons had once served the devil himself, until they tried to overthrow him as ruler of the netherworld, which failed.

As punishment, they were cast out of hell and into earth, such that they may be forced to serve humans, which as far as demons go, is about the next worse thing to becoming angels. Also incase that the demons would attempt coup again, they were cursed to be eternally weak to water, and the devil's fortress was submerged in water.

However, there was one demon that was sent in as a spy to make sure that these demons were kept in control on earth, and that would be the water demon, whom I've taken the powers from. After the death of his owner, he would bring news to the devil regarding the activities of the other demons, and then sent back again. Regarding his powers, I have some extremely good benefits. I bear no weakness to the sea, I can easily weaken Devil Fruit users, and also detect a Devil Fruit user before he or she uses their power, as well as the kind of Devil Fruit even if it's undetermined by most humans.

Also this means that if you make trouble, I'll be the one to punish you, Freckles."

She said turning to Ace with her cheeky smirk. The other pirates who had been listening intently lost it again at the last statement.

Thatch, again barely recovering from his last laughing fit winked, "I'll talk to the old man for you. Don't worry, I've got your back for this one." was all he could manage before he fell back into a spell of laughter.

Ace face palmed as Holly innocently thanked Thatch, before throwing him a mischievous smile. In 5 mere minutes, the impish girl from his past had just become his new crewmate.

_ Great. I should be ever so thrilled._

"Have I mentioned how Freckles used to snore as a child?" She grinned again.

_What was I saying about being thrilled?_

Ace, desperate to stop her, picked her up by the collar of her jacket. "That's enough of embarrassing someone for one day. Look at them, one more story and they might die laughing."

"Whatever you say, Freckles!" her playful grin appeared on her face, which obviously meant the second his back was turned, she would be telling them even more.

Later that night, when they rejoined the mother ship, The Moby Dick, Thatch gleefully introduced the crew to her as well as Ace's new nickname, which garnered the same kind of reaction as this afternoon. A little while later, Thatch came out of Whitebeard's cabin, giving a smile that meant approval from their father. The crew threw a party to welcome their new nakama onboard.

Eventually, Ace came up to Holly, who was generally enjoying herself talking to Marco in a quiet corner of the ship. "Ojisan wants to speak to you. Don't worry, he seemed pretty pleased with you."

"Oh don't worry about me Freckles, I'll tell him all~ about you." She winked as she sauntered off, while he rolled his eyes.

Ace stared after her even when she had long faded through the crowd of pirates making merry.

"Freckles~? You there Freckles?" Ace jumped realizing Marco had been calling after him.

"Huh what were you saying again?" Ace asked as Marco chuckled to himself.

"I've seen the way you look at that girl."

Ace quickly turned away, to hide the bright shade of red his face had taken.

"Not that people won't notice for long, but I'll keep my lips sealed on this one. I wonder though, how did you meet her?"

Ace smiled as he leaned against the railings of the ship, staring up into the stars.

"Well... That's a long story."

"I'm all ears."

-**A.X.C.333-**

**End Of Chapter 1!**

**Dictionary:**

**Mizu: Water.**

**Ojisan: Informal way of addressing one's father, closest translation to "Pops". **

**Well, hope you enjoyed it, as much as I enjoyed teasing Freckles, I mean Ace (Hehe)**

**P.S Some REALLY awesome writers are: Zaikia and Ace's Shadow Girl. They're both really good, so I hope you read their stories! (I will feature some authors if they catch my attention in this story.)**

**Usopp has come to help me get reviews outta u guys! :D**

"**Usopp Spell!**

**Your hand moves the mouse over to the blue button.**

**You click on the button.**

**You type how you honestly feel about this story in the space provided.**

**You optionally choose to put this story or me under favorites or alerts.**

**You submit the review."**

**See that wasn't so hard was it? And if you ignored that nice method that I used to receive your reviews, Doflamingo is going to appear with a rape face by your bed tonight. Now trust me, you really, REALLY don't want that guy appearing with that face. (And if you're a guy, just take it that he's hallucinating and think's you're Crocodile.)**


	3. Nameless? The duo's beginnings!

Chapter 2: Nameless? The duo's beginning!

**(The first part of this chapter is told as a flashback, that's the style they do in the anime, and its easier for me too, coz I don't like writing recounts.) Enjoy~  
**

**-A.X.C.333-**

The rain poured down like heavy sheets, visibility in the forest dropping to zero. Still, Ace walked through the miserable weather conditions, the blood on his fists slowly washed away by the rain.

_"If Roger had a son? He should be given all forms of torture for the world to watch. And then they should kill him as slowly and as painfully as possible."  
_  
Ace clenched his teeth as he punched the nearest tree. "The hell do I have to take the brunt of that asshole's sins? What did I do to deserve being his son?"  
The tree toppled over in response, however it was followed by an unexpected cry.

"Kyaaaaa!"  
Ace stared up in shock, his anger temporarily forgotten.  
Suddenly he felt something fall on top of him, pushing him to the ground. He could barely make out the figure through the heavy rain.

_A girl?_

She stood up and shook her head a little, before whacking him on the head.  
"Jeez! What's your problem? You didn't have to knock down a whole tree you know?"

She blinked, as if realizing something.  
"Hey... You don't look really old... What's with your strength? Ah what the heck you can explain later, it's more important that we get out of this rain."  
Without waiting for his answer, she lead him by the hand, to a hole of a huge, but dead, oak tree.

Once inside, he realized that the place had been completely refurnished on the inside. No, that was an understatement.

Tightly weaved grass kept out rain, whereas dead leaves littered the floor, giving the small home a rustic charm. Wood had been used to create a sort of chair/bed that had been covered with all sorts of colorful feathers. The ends of vines that hung from the woven roof were tied around bottles, which had fresh water filled inside them. The girl had decorated the place with sea shells, pearls and even the odd pressed flower.

"This is just..." Ace trailed off, unable to say anything, amazed by this girl's skills.

"Impressed aren't ya?" She smirked, as he was unable to contain his amazement. She pulled down on two of the vines, taking their bottles of water, and throwing one to Ace.

"So... Would you mind explaining why you suddenly attacked my tree for absolutely no obvious reason at all? Oh and who are you?"  
She asked as they sat together on the chair, listening to the rain pouring outside.

"Well... It's not something I really want to share... But I feel all right with telling you. I'm Ace." Ace said hesitantly as he drank from the water. This wasn't like him, to just open up and tell someone his troubles. But when he looked at the girl... She just gave him the impression that she truly understood, even if she couldn't share his pain.

"I was the son of the previous pirate king. Everyone thinks that that makes me a demon. So I kind of took it out on your other tree." He sighed as he looked down.

"Well, "Everyone" is just stupid then! Honestly, why should you give a damn what they think? Make your own life; don't let the past govern it. If the world gets in the way, then fight the world!" She said, staring defiantly at him. The fire of passion burned bright in her eyes as she said those words, something he could never forget for all the years to come.

"I guess. But enough about me. What's your name?" Ace asked. She cast her face away from him.

"I… I was washed up on this island a long time ago. My parents had set me ashore because they abandoned me. If I had a name, then I've long forgotten it. Besides, I don't want any name from people who treated me like that," She sighed, "So, I guess I'll just go without a name for now."

Ace grabbed her hand, and she looked up. Only then did he see how dejected she actually was. "Then… From now on your name will be Holly. The way it stands out in winter, is like how you are different compared to any other person I've met."

Holly began tearing, biting her bottom lip, looking ready to start crying, "Th…Thank you…I'll gladly use that name, forever." Out of nowhere, she leapt forward and hugged him.

And as the rain fell all around that tree, in the quietness of that moment, he returned her hug, forming the beginning of a bond between them.

"You know, you may seem tough on the outside, but those cute freckles of yours betray your real personality. From now on, I'm going to call you Freckles."

…

"So that's basically it." Ace smiled at the warm memory. Marco stood there silently for a moment, before grinning,

"Childhood sweethearts."

"WE ARE NOT!"

"Sure… Freckles…"

_Meanwhile, in Whitebeard's cabin…_

"So… I'm going to be in charge of keeping Freckles in order?" Holly smiled deviously at the thought.

"Guararara… Yes… That son of mine… He's too reckless sometimes. Although I fully trust him not to do anything overly stupid… And you seem pretty close to him."

"I see. Well… I'll do my best!" She said, although her mind was filled with thoughts of lecturing Ace. "Oh… And thank you, for accepting me into your crew… It means a lot to reunite with Ace after all these years."

Whitebeard laughed once more. "You are my daughter now, Holly." Her eyes seemed to dance with joy as she heard him speak. Smiling warmly, she headed back out to join the pirates who were partying, and to break the news to Ace, to which of course he would treat with shock.

It was so nice to finally have family who wanted for her. Family that fought for her.

That loved her.

**End of Chapter 2.**

**Sorry if you found this chapter a bit short, it will be longer next round! Promise ya :) **

**Well, authors to check out: amethystcreator **

**Ahaha anyway review! MAKE SURE YA DO!**


	4. Tragedy Strikes! Ace's search begins!

Chapter 3- Tragedy Strikes! Ace's search begins!

(This chapter is told in Holly's p.o.v)

I'm sorry, I didn't want to kill Thatch, but that's the trigger for Ace's search for BB :( Thatch is an awesome guy, I'm waiting for the day Luffy kicks BB's ass big time… :I

Holly is lying down in a hammock recounting today's events.

_It's been 3 months since I joined the Whitebeard Pirates. Everyone here really cares for each other._

Ace has developed that inhuman strength of his since the time we parted no doubt. And, of course I keep an eye on him like the old man suggested. Even though I'm only a division member, Marco himself told me that if we had sub-commanders, I'd be taking the cake hands down.

Well, today... We met with a pirate ship. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but Thatch found a devil fruit and I don't like it. It's the Yami Yami No Mi ... And as far as I can see, that demon has been exceptionally troublesome.

It won't do any good to worry about him though. It's my turn to watch, so I should go out now.  
  
Holly jumps out of her hammock, and lands on the ground silently. Then she notices Teach's hammock is empty. Shrugging it off, she opens the door.

Something isn't right.

Then she turns the other way, and realizes just what. Teach stabbing Thatch. Thatch falling to the ground. The amount of blood he's losing. And Teach holding Thatch's devil fruit.

She lets out a little gasp that draws Teach's attention. Quickly, vaporizing to become mist, one of the more advanced techniques she's developed.

As he lowers his guard, she runs to the cabin she shares with the second division members. Raising the alarm. Everything she does is just from a basic animal sense. Not thinking so as to not panic, to not grieve until it's over.

But even so, Teach escapes from them. She runs over to Thatch, who is barely clinging on to life, "Holly... Tell Freckles not to... Worry about me..."  
He gives a weak smile, before his eyes close, and death takes him away from them. And suddenly, fond memories of him flood back. That's when she starts to despair; unable to hold the tears back anymore.

Other crewmates gather around, all mourning for their nakama. Those who were sleepy instantly awaken and grieve for him. The night filled with misery, with despair. Angst and betrayal are the only emotions felt.

In the gray of the morning, reflecting on everyone's mood, a fight erupts.

"Let me go! He was my division member!"

"The old man wants to let it pass this round!"

"I don't care! Thatch won't rest in peace if I don't avenge him!"

"Ace... I have a strange feeling about this incident. Just this once, I'll let it go."

Ace clenches his fists before jumping over board, to land on his raft.

"Ace!"

Holly looks at Whitebeard, who gives her a simple nod. Quickly, to catch up with Ace, she transports through the water, and appears next to him. She travels through the water exceptionally fast, managing to keep up with Ace even when he was on his raft.

For what seems like hours they move in silence, until finally, "I'm not going back until I catch Blackbeard."

"I know."

"That means you can't bring me back."

"I didn't come here to Ace. I intend to stay with you."

"Fine."

Holly sighed. There was no point in talking to him when his only emotion was rage. She could feel the hatred for Blackbeard coming off him in waves. She had only seen this side of him once before.

_They traveled very far and fast in two weeks, going through Fishman Island, reaching Sabaody Archipelago, eventually reaching Clockheart Island. There they stopped and rested for sometime, and Ace had finally subdued his anger._

As they were docking, Holly noticed a bird in the sky. "It's a news coo!"  
When the newspaper dropped from the bird's mouth, a few sheets of paper fell out of it too.

"These are wanted posters..." She called out while Ace secured his raft with rope one last time.

Suddenly Holly burst out laughing. "How can this guy have 30 Million on his head? Look at him!" Ace, out of curiosity, took the wanted poster from her hands. And for the first time since leaving the ship, he smiled. "Luffy eh? Seems like he's doing well then."

"You know this guy?"

"Yeah. Sometime after you left the island, I met two boys. This guy got on my nerves at first, trying to follow me all the time. But as fate would have it we became brothers, all three of us. We swore that we would live with no regrets, and would leave our home-island for the ocean to be pirates when we were 17. He's three years younger than me, so I think he must've left quite recently."

"Do you think we'd meet him?" Holly asked, eager to meet the fun-looking boy.

"Who's to say otherwise? If they take the same route we're on, we might as well."

...

_Later, in the local bar..._  
Ace and Holly sat together at a table, resting after eating. Although a more accurate way of describing the situation was that she was sitting out one of his narcoleptic fits.  
"Jeez... You could give some warning before you went face-first into your food Freckles..."

She listened out to rumors to pass the time, when a particular one caught her attention.

"Did you hear? They say a pirate who calls himself Blackbeard ravaged Drum recently."

"Yeah. I've heard he's got devil fruit powers like nothing anyone has seen before."

Holly frowned, and turned to Ace. Apparently, the rumor had gotten through to his subconscious state, and was now sitting up, narrowing his eyes.

"Looks like we've got a lead then. I think there's a black market that sells eternal poses nearby." Holly said, getting up. Ace nodded silently, and the pair left the bar.

"Oh and you might want to wash your face."

As the pair strolled out of the bar, someone shouted from behind, "Stop those two! They're eat-n-run!"

After a brief chase by the owner, a lot of sneaking around and the acquirement of an eternal pose, they set out for Drum Island.

"Say Ace..." Holly said while they traveled over the ocean.

Ace knew she was being serious, whenever she said his actual name.

"If you fight with him, I want you to be careful. His powers... I don't know... They're supposed to be Logia and all but... There's something ominous about that fruit that I felt ever since Thatch found it."

Ace nodded and they continued on.

Finally after a few days, the pair arrived on Drum Island. Ace caused the snow to stop falling, freaking out some of the locals.  
Ace approached a pair of villagers to enquire.

"Is Blackbeard still around here?"

"No, he's long since left the island ... But there's a rumor that someone named Scorpion defeated him in Alabasta, at the oasis of Yuba."

"Then I'll ask you another question. Has a pirate wearing a straw hat come by?" He held up the wanted poster of Luffy.

"N...No."

"Then if he comes... Tell him I'll only wait for him in Alabasta for 10 days."

Ace begins to walk back to the dock, when one of the villagers call out, "What's your name?"

"Oh yeah... Yes that's right. I'm Ace. Tell him that and he'll understand."

Holly, who was watching from a corner, was thinking to herself:

_What a badass guy Freckles became..._

"Stop that man! He's a dine and dash!"

Ace, instantly forgetting the cool appearance ran off shouting, "Well, I'll leave it with you then!"

_What a dumbass...  
_  
Meanwhile, on Little Garden...

"Nami-Saaaaan! Vivi Chwaaaaan! And the rest of you idiots!" Sanji burst out from the forest to the clearing where the group was resting after their fight with Mr 3. At first, Usopp and Carue are about to kill Sanji for only turning out then. But he soon turns out to have done possibly the most important thing that day in the crew, after he reveals the Eternal Pose to Alabasta. The crew quickly rejoices, and makes preparations to leave for Alabasta.  
As the group leaves the island, shooting through the island eater, they are unknowingly on the track to reuniting with Luffy's brother.

End of chapter 3!

Sigh… I miss Thatch a lot. He was an awesome guy with an awesome hairstyle :( I hope those two are happy in heaven :')

Well review please! :D Seeee I made it longer like I promised you guys ;)


	5. Meeting in Alabasta! Escape Smoker!

Chapter 4- Meeting in Alabasta! Escape Smoker!

Wheeee~ Chapter 4! Well they're finally gonna meet. Man this chapter sure brings back memories… You know what I'm talking about. Ace's most epic face ever~! XD Enjoy!

P.s I used a lot of Jap for this chapter, coz it sounds nicer, most fans should know them but in case you don't all the meanings are at the footnote of this chapter :)

_Ace and Holly had been in Alabasta's port town, for 7 days now. Despite the lack of rain, the port town of Nanohana was still functioning well. Hotels were all open for business, and they found rooms with ease. She had teased him by suggesting they share a room, which of course he instantly turned down. _

_They hung around town, looking for information on Scorpion, as well as looking out for Luffy. _

Ace and Holly find out from an old fortuneteller lady that the restaurant owner nearby is more likely to know if someone new is in town. Ace thanks her and they leave.

"Hey Freckles... I dunno why but I get the feeling we're being watched..."

"Since when were you paranoid? Anyway I'm hungry, so we might as well go check out the restaurant."

Holly takes one last uncertain glance at the bustling crowd of shoppers in the market behind them before shrugging it off.

_Sure enough though..._

Zoro, Nami, Chopper and Usopp watch the pair as they leave. "Why where they were looking for Luffy?" Usopp asks, remembering the poster that the man had taken out.

"Bounty hunters?"

"No ... They're not. Those tattoos they had… As a former bounty hunter, I can never forget that mark."

"We should find Luffy soon anyways. Coupled with the Marines, and his bad luck of running into trouble... This is going to get bad really soon."

Nami frowned as some marine solders walked through the street, not forgetting recently seeing Smoker and Tashigi.

A_ little later, at the Spice Bean Restaurant..._

"Is he dead...?"

"He must've eaten something from the desert."

Holly prodded the slumped over Ace. "Oi Freckles... Wake up... It's embarrassing being stared at by so many people."

No sooner had she finished did Ace instantly lift his face from the plate of food he was eating.

The reaction of the spectators was priceless.

"HE CAME BACK TO LIFE!"

Ace, looking around, trying to get his bearings.

"You finally awake Freckles?"

Ace suddenly dived for her skirt, thinking it was a napkin.

After a severe beating from Holly, with threats of death the next time he does that, Ace asks the owner whether he knows where Luffy is.

However, as the owner begins to reply, trouble appears at the entrance of the restaurant.

"You've got quite a nerve to be eating out in public, Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division, Portgas D. Ace."

"WHITEBEARD PIRATES?"

"Yo Freckles Taichou. Looks like we've got company."

Ace grinned and turned around to face the Marine Captain Smoker, smoking on his cigars as usual.

"What's an infamous pirate like you doing here in Alabasta?"

"I'm searching … for my little brother. So… What do you propose I should do?"

"Sit there and get arrested."

"Rejected. I have better things to do than to go to Impel Down."

"I thought so… Right now I'm after another pirate. I couldn't really care less about your head."

"Then, just let me go. It's easier for both of us."

"I can't do that. As long as I'm a Marine, and you're a pirate."

"What a dumb reason. Well then… let's have some fun."

"Oi Freckles! Let me take him out too! I wanna get a bounty ya know!"

Customers in the restaurant tensed as they prepared to fight. Being caught in between two Logia Devil Fruit users can be extremely hazardous to your health.

Everything that happened next was so fast; you could have turned your head away for a moment and missed it.

"GOMU GOMU NO ROCKET!"

A flash of red and blue shot through the entrance of the restaurant, the object effectively knocking into Smoker. Completely caught off guard by the surprise attack, Smoker wasn't able to turn into smoke, and was sent flying across the room. Ace's expression was one of utter shock as the Marine captain flew into him. They were thrown through at least seven walls from the back of the restaurant.

Jaws dropped as the realization set in; and the flying object turning out to be a teenage boy, started jumping up and down happily shouting something about finding a restaurant.

Holly was smiling to herself now. How much the guys back on the ship would've paid to see Ace's face as Smoker flew into him… Damn even the One Piece might not be enough.

She looked at the boy who was ecstatically ordering food at the counter. Taking a closer look, she realised that he was the Luffy kid.

_Family Resemblance with Freckles? At first glance I'd say… Zero._

He turned out to be pretty dimwitted, not realizing who he just sent flying, on the contrary not even realizing he had sent someone flying at all.

_What an amusing kid._

"Which freaking idiot did that to me? Jeez…"

Holly turned her attention to a rather pissed off Ace, who was walking out of the hole he and Smoker had created a few minutes before. Apparently noticing Luffy, his expression changed from annoyance to recognition.

"Oi Lu-!"

He was interrupted by Smoker who promptly smashed his head down.

"MUGIWARA!"

Holly was struggling not to burst out laughing. Today was not Freckle's lucky day.

"I knew you'd come here, to Alabasta."

Luffy, still stuffing down food at that inhuman rate of his, was seemingly taking no notice of the rather pissed off Marine captain standing in front of him.

"Listen to me when I'm talking!"

Luffy's face began to sweat, finally recognizing Smoker.

He spat his food out at Smoker in surprise, to which Holly couldn't suppress a little giggle.

"Phoo! You're that Smokey guy! What are you doing here?"

"Bastard…"

"Chotto matte yo!"

Luffy held out one hand, while stuffing all his food down.

"Thank you for the food!"

He bowed to the chef, before running away from Smoker.

"MATTE MUGIWARA!"

Ace got up from the rubble, starting to chase after Luffy.

"Matte Luffy! It's me!"

Holly jumped up from her seat, running with Ace.

"Ya feeling better Freckles? Tell me how it's like to get thrown through the window sometime okay?"

"Urusai! Why didn't you tell him I was here?"

"Didn't feel like it."

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

The pair took to the roofs, chasing after Smoker, who was relatively easy to spot when he used his powers.

Eventually they caught up with them, although Luffy was now with people who were, presumably, his nakama.

"Time to get my long-awaited bounty!"

Holly smirked as her legs turned to water.

"Rapids Speed!" (A/N no it's not a grammatical error, you know what Rapids are don't you…)

She jumped from the rooftop they were on, landing in front of Smoker with a splash.

"Kagerou!"

Ace landed beside her, his fire instantly blocking Smoker's smoke that was directed at Luffy.

"You again…"

"Give it up. You may be smoke, but I am fire. There'd be no point in a fight between us."

"Dumb Freckles! You've gone and stolen the limelight again you asshole!"

"That's because I'm your commander."

Ace smirked, enjoying finally getting on Holly's nerves.

Holly rolled her eyes.

"That's because I'm your commander. Huh." She said, imitating his voice.

Luffy and his nakama were staring in shock.

"Ace!"

"You never change, Luffy."

"Ace! You ate a devil fruit?"

"Yeah. The Mera Mera No Mi."

"Oi Freckles! At least introduce me!"

"Oh yeah, this is the world's most annoying childhood friend. Anyway we can't talk like this! I'll catch you up later, you guys run for it! We'll deal with these guys. Go!"

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted to his nakama, and the group ran off.

"I don't get it. Why did you help Strawhat?"

Smoker glared at the pair as his little marine minions started assembling around him.

"Having a little brother on the slow side tends to make his older brother worry."

Smoker's face took on an expression of some surprise.

"What do you mean 'Little Brother'? Then…"

Ace began flaring up more.

"Move! Portgas D. Ace!"

"I don't think so."

"What about me Smoker? Freckles isn't the only one here…"

Ace blasted out a column of fire, scaring the marine solders.

_A little way off…_

"But Luffy! Who were they?"

"Are the people you know, Luffy-san?"

"Yeah! I dunno about that girl, but that was my brother!"

The crew was silent for a few moments, all equally shocked by the news.

"BROTHER?"

_Meanwhile…_

Ace became a huge wall of fire.

"Who would've thought that someone like you would be Strawhat's brother…?"

Smoker's hands began to turn into smoke, and formed a rather large cloud threatening to engulf the flames.

"White Blow!"

"Freckles Taichou… I'll deal with this."

Holly grinned and jumped over the fire.

"Mizu no Scythe!"

Her arms became sharp water blades and easily sliced through the smoke, causing it to dissipate.

Smoker narrowed his eyes.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Glad you finally asked. I'm Holly, and I hope to see a wanted poster of my beautiful self soon." She smirked, and proceeded to attack him with another scythe.

"Move! White Spark!"

"Fine. Freckles is gonna get jealous if I don't let him fight too."

She jumped out of the way as Smoker completely transformed into smoke, and headed straight at Ace. The wall of fire mixed with the smoke, and the two elements flew skywards, in the form of an upside down cone.

"Show-off." Holly muttered as she took out the solders that charged at her in one blow.

Finally Ace came back down, apparently having drawn with Smoker.

"Let's go while he won't see us."

"Roger, Freckles Taichou."

The pair transformed into their elements, and headed to the roofs to escape.

"So, we should find your bro."

"Yeah… I think that's him over there… Strange, what's he doing just sitting on a barrel?"

"Let's go then!"

Hopping across the buildings towards the alleyway that Luffy was just sitting in, on top of a barrel.

"Jeez, you don't even look like you're trying to escape!"

Luffy looked up at Ace and Holly, recognizing the former's voice.

"Ace! And other person!"

"Yo!"

"And other person? What kind of greeting is that?"

The pair jumped down to land besides Luffy.

"Long time no see, Luffy!"

"Same to you, Ace!"

The pair started arm-wrestling on the barrel that was previously used as a seat.

"How many years has it been?"

"Dunno. But you've still got that 'My-Pace' thing eh Luffy? You haven't changed a bit since we last saw each other."

"Neither have you Ace. I was a little surprised to know you ate a Devil Fruit, but nothing else has really changed."

Holly watched as the two recalled memories from their time together, smiling a little.

Eventually, the barrel broke, from the force both of them exerted on it.

"Guess we're both still the same. Sure brings back memories!"

"Yeah!"

"But… who's that girl over there?"

"Allow me to introduce myself properly, since Freckles here can't be bothered to. I'm Holly. I met Freckles before you did, and I left before that too. I ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi. Nice to meet you!" Holly grinned.

"Freckles…?" Luffy's eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Luffy! What's with that face?"

"Yo Freckles!"

"You can't be serious… Anyway, we should go find your nakama. They're probably looking for you."

"But Ace… Why are you here in Alabasta?"

"Eh? Didn't you get my message in Drum?"

"Drum?"

"Ah well it doesn't matter. We have some small business to take care of here, so I figured I'd try to meet up with you."

"Small business?"

"I'm part of the Whitebeard Pirates now," Ace turned around to show his tattoo," This is the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates, my pride and joy. Ne Luffy, how about joining the Whitebeard Pirates. Your nakama as well of course."

"No thanks."

Ace laughed a little, readjusting his hat.

"Yeah, I thought so. Just asking. Whitebeard is the greatest man I've known. I've decided to make him the king, not you Luffy.

"So what? It's just one more person I'll have to fight then."

Ace smiled as Luffy said his favourite phrase. "I'm going to be the pirate king."

Haha, sho I made the chapter double length to make up for not uploading sooner! Hope you liked it~!

Dictionary:

Taichou- Commander

Gomu- Rubber

Mugiwara- Straw Hat

Chotto- A little

Matte- Wait

Yo- Particle used at the end of a sentence that is a request

Urusai- Shut up

Nakama- Crew, friends who are close to you

Kagerou- One of Ace's attacks, meaning Heat Haze

Mera- The sound of fire burning

Ne- Say

If I missed out any, just review :)

If I didn't miss out any, you must still review :D

Look forward to chapter 5!

Oh yeas. Peeps with FB, there's this game called nakama doubt, it's a group. Its open 3- 9 pm Philippines time. Check it out its really fun :D


	6. Unexpected Friendships? Vivi and Holly!

Chapter 5- Unexpected friendships? Vivi and Holly

Haha~ Yes I loved Ace when the crew compared him to Luffy! XD Anyway, enjoy~!

Holly smiles and listens as the two brothers catch up with each other.

"So, let's find your nakama. It'll be troublesome if Smoker finds them."

"Which harbor did you anchor in?"

"Y'know, I have absolutely no idea!"

Luffy laughs as the two stare at him.

"Oi oi… being the captain of a ship, one normally remembers where they left their ship… Well whatever. Anyway, what are these nakama of yours like?"

"Hmm… A swordsman who wants to be the world's greatest. He's always wearing a haramaki. The navigator likes maps, mikan and money. A cook who makes really delicious food! Oh a liar too! And… A reindeer. They're all really amusing!"

"That's a pretty nice variety you got there, Luffy."

She looks around, half-listening to the conversation between them, half glancing at the sinister figures that watch them from the shadows.

_You'd have to be an idiot to attack us, especially with Freckles._

People step out of the shadows, surrounding them, pointing guns at them. A rather tall and hairy man who looks like the boss stands in front. He has many weapons strapped to his back.

"Hold it, Hiken no Ace. As you can see, there is nowhere to run. Prepare to die!"

_Here come some idiots now._

"Hey… Isn't that Mugiwara no Luffy? The 30,000 belis bounty?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"Strawhat and Fire Fist! We're damn lucky today! Once we capture them, we'll be promoted for sure!"

_You poor ignorant fool._

The three of them walk past the man, ignoring him.

"So let's go find Luffy's ship eh Freckles?"

"Yeah."

"Oi! You three, stop right there!"

The bounty hunters turn around from behind. The boss, apparently humiliated, is taking out two swords from their sheathes.

"KILL THEM!"

"AYE!"

They charge at the two men, making pitiful attempts to kill Ace and Luffy.

_Looks like Luffy's got a devil fruit. Probably the Gomu Gomu no Mi… Are those bounty hunters even trying? They're worse than I thought…_

Holly thinks as the boss is sent flying by Luffy.

A few of the bounty hunters approach her, evil grins all over their face.

"This cutie doesn't have a bounty… She's probably very weak."

"Boys~ I know I'm cute but…" She winks as she easily takes them out without even needing to use one of her techniques, "Looks can be very deceiving."

The group begins walking down the hill to the beach again.

"Don't hesitate! Our promotion is on the line!"

_If there were a bigger group of idiots than these…_

They soon find a stairway that cuts through the houses on their left, which leads to the ocean.

"See your ship?"

"Hmm…"

The crowd of bounty hunters quickly catches up with them.

"You won't escape!"

"Those guys sure don't know when to quit." Ace sighs, turning around to face them.

"Ah! My ship! Oi! Minna~!"

"Luffy go on ahead, me and Freckles will-" Rose turns around to face the boy, but he's already jumped over the stone walls, "Ah what the heck, he isn't even listening."

"Well then Freckles… Let's be nice to these guys. If they faced us at our worse, I'd almost pity them."

_On the Going Merry…_

"I'm back!"

Luffy blasts over with his rubber powers, knocking over Sanji and Chopper in the process.

Vivi looks at the three of them with concern. "Sanji-san! Tony-kun!"

"Not again…" Zoro face-palms, recalling similar experiences of his own.

"You asshole! Don't ever do that again or I'll throw you overboard!"

"Sanji's right! You've caused so much trouble for us… Try at least acting like the captain."

"Sorry… Ah! Ace and Holly!"

"Ace? Your brother was with you? Will it be okay if we just leave him?"

"Oh don't worry about him. He's really strong! Even before he ate the Devil Fruit, I couldn't ever beat him!"

"You couldn't beat a normal human?"

"The brother of a monster turns out to be a super monster… Surprise surprise…"

"Well if I fought him now, I'd win!" Luffy begins laughing again.

_Just besides the Merry, where Ace is tying the Striker to the ship..._

"There he goes again. He's really groundless, that brother of yours…"

Ace smirks, and jumps up.

"Ne Luffy… Just who can you beat again?"

He lands on the railings of the Merry, stunning Luffy who had previously been leaning against them.

"Yo Ace! These are the nakama I was telling you about."

"Oh! Konnichiwa! I trust my brother has been in your care for sometime… He's very troublesome, so I'll entrust him to you… Thank you!"

"No problem, you're very welcome." They say in sibling like unison.

"Jeez Freckles… I think you owe me a proper introduction don't you…"

Holly jumped up, knocking him to the ground on top of Luffy.

"He may look like he's polite but really, that's only for show. Anyway it's nice to meet you all! Since Freckles here couldn't give me a better introduction than 'annoying childhood friend', I'm Holly, Whitebeard pirates second division unofficial sub-commander."

She smiles as the crew introduce themselves, noticing the blonde's, Sanji, eyes go heart-shaped.

Suddenly, Vivi's eyes widen in shock, "Holly-chan! It's me, Vivi!"

Holly turns to face the blue haired girl, in pleasant surprise.

"Vivi! You've grown a bit since we last met! But… Why are you on a pirate ship?" She faces Luffy, "Oi mugiwara… you didn't kidnap her did you…"

"No, it's nothing like that… Luffy-san is helping me with some problems…"

"Well I'd love to catch up but…" Holly frowns as she turns to the ocean. Zoro had noticed it too. At least six ships show up, all bearing Jolly Rogers.

"Baroque Works! That's the billion's fleet!"

Luffy and Ace get up from where they were on the floor.

"Them again?"

"Freckles Taichou. Why don't we deal with those annoying idiots once and for all eh? Luffy, just sit back and we'll handle them."

Ace smiled, getting used to his nickname, and jumped overboard onto his Striker, Holly in tow.

"Let's see just how good these Whitebeard Pirates are." Zoro says, watching the pair head off.

"So… shall we use that technique?"

Holly grins as she extends her hand out, preparing.

"Ready when you are, Freckles Taichou."

He holds onto her hand, and they transform into their elements.

"Mizu Mera no Steam!"

Instantly, a huge cloud of hot steam floats towards the billions ship. They heat is unbearable and some of the weaker ones fall over, writhing in pain.

The pair grin, and split up, with Ace jumping over the Billion's fleet, sending his Striker underneath the ships, and then landing on it with timed precision.

"Hiken!"

"Umitou!"

Holly conjures the water from the ocean, forming a huge wave that resembles a blade, and hits the ships, easily breaking them apart, while Ace uses his signature move.

In a matter of minutes, the battle is over, and the Strawhats watch with shock, only Luffy, who expected his brother to be that strong, watches smiling widely.

"Over already? We should've made it last longer…" Holly sighed as they stared at the wreckage floating on the sea.

_Later, on the Merry…_

The pair sits together, watching Usopp, Chopper and Luffy kanpai over silly things, such as them joining the crew.

Vivi approaches Holly, and the two start chatting.

"Ne Holly. How did you meet Vivi?" Nami asks.

"I think it was a when I was 16… That makes it 4 years ago, so Vivi was 12. I happened to be in Alabasta, and I accidentally landed in the palace while training in the oasis nearby. Um… I can't exactly remember how, but it had something to do with miscalculating my devil fruit powers. So, I ended up in the palace, and Vivi nursed me back to health."

"It's been a long while hasn't it? Then, Holly-chan, what are you and Ace-san doing here?"

Ace, pausing from drinking, looks up, and explains their case, and that they're heading to Yuba. Holly sits there, zoning out and thinking.

_He's hiding that rage he's feeling inside… It must still be painful for him, knowing Thatch for so long… _

_It turns out the Strawhats are going to Yuba too It's really nice that we met up with Freckles' brother and his crew… Maybe he won't think about Blackbeard so much now._

End Of Chapter 5

In case you were wondering, Holly was very capable as a child so she got into the grand line despite her youth. BTW the Striker is Ace's raft thingy…

Well review please! Love you all! :)

Dictionary:

Haramaki- Waistband

Mikan- Mandarin oranges, the type Bellemere grew

Hiken- Fire fist

Minna- Everyone

Konnichiwa- "Hello!"

Umitou- literally means Sea sword.

Kanpai- 'Cheers' in Japanese.

EDIT:

So yeah I cleaned this chapter and the previous one up, the punctuations were a bit messed up…


	7. Entering the Sandora Desert!

Chapter 6- Entering the Sandora Desert

(Hey last chapter there were some problems… '!' And '?' when I combined them for some reason the '?' disappeared… I'll fix it soon.) So anyway… I know some readers want romance soon~ so I will~ although, I'm planning for any admittance of love to be at the end. I've also started planning for a sequel :D So anyway, enjoy!

_The place was a burning wreck… a faded figure that surrounded her… the sound of the ocean…a scream that meant nothing but someone's demise…_

"Don't play with your food you idiots!"

Holly sat up, jolted out of the dream with Sanji's voice and the clang of pots on two heads. She looked around and tried to get her bearings. She noticed, with amusement, Luffy holding onto a figure made out of rice that resembled a snowman. Ace sat besides her, smiling to himself.

"Ah sorry, Holly-chan, I didn't mean to wake you. Those idiots were-" Sanji stopped as he turned round to find Luffy and Usopp washing plates with dirty cloths, "DON'T WASH DISHES WITH FILTHY RAGS!"

"Jeez. And to think I have to make bento for all of you…"

Sanji muttered to himself, after kicking the two boys out of the kitchen.

"Ne, Sanji, why are you guys and Vivi going to Yuba?"

"Well… the rebellion that's about to take place was actually a set-up by the Shichibukai Crocodile and his organization, Baroque Works. The ships you took out were some of his weaker subordinates. He intends to attempt a coup on this kingdom, after the Royal Army and Rebel Army clash, although we're not exactly sure how… Anyway, Vivi-chan wants to meet up with the Rebel Army leader, to stop the war by telling them the truth. Since the army is supposed to be based in Yuba, we're heading there."

This time, Ace spoke.

"I heard that Crocodile was in this country, but him taking the throne…? It's unlikely that he's planning to just settle down in this country. He's after something else here in Alabasta, most probably."

_The Going Merry travels up the Sandora River, eventually reaching a place to dock. As everyone begins to get off the ship, the water around the ship begins to stir and figures shoot out from the river. _

"HA!"

The crew looked at the small animals that crowded on the bay.

"Are those turtles?"

"I think you mean seals…"

Vivi rushed forwards to the railings of the ship.

"Kung Fu Dugongs!"

As one of them began to speak, Chopper did a live translation for the crew.

"If you want to dock here, you have to defeat me first! Otherwise go dock on the other shore you wimps! That's what he says."

Holly watched as one defeated Usopp. Luffy attacked another, and it turned out that these dugongs would make their winning opponent their sensei. Of course Luffy had to pull a stunt like defeating the whole group.

"Yosh! Let's go to Yuba!"

Holly laughed a little as the teenager assembled all the dugongs in one neat army. Eventually, Chopper managed to get them to stay and guard the ship with some food in exchange.

The group begins to enter the desert. Before long, they arrive at Erumalu. Or at least, what's left of it. The town is a desolate ruin; any signs of plant life have all been dried up. A few skeletons litter the sandy grounds, and what few buildings are left are crumbling away.

"Wasn't this… supposed to be the Green City?"

Holly picks up a few of the withering shrubs that become nothing but dust in the wind.

Vivi bites her bottom lip, looking at the ruined surroundings.

"It was until recently… This town just couldn't survive without rain for that long. This is just an example of how Crocodile has destroyed this country."

"Just how long has it not rained?"

"About… 3 years."

"3 years? But still, couldn't you guys just draw water from the huge river back there?"

"You'll soon see…"

Holly listened as Vivi explained how rain had always fallen in Aluburna, the capitol of Alabasta, until recently the king was framed to have used dance-powder to steal rain from the rest of the country.

They came to a large road, covered with more sand. Holly looked at it closely, suddenly realizing what it actually was.

"This was a canal isn't it? To irrigate this land?"

"Yes, Holly-chan. This canal was once used to draw water from the Sandora River. But it was destroyed mysteriously, and combined with the lack of rain, the city fell to dehydration, and is the state it is now."

Vivi started tearing, and turned away to hide it.

Suddenly the wind took on a new atmosphere, blowing faster and faster.

"A sandstorm!"

The sand that blew across the area was strong. Holly felt herself stumble over, but instead fell into steady arms.

"It's okay, I've got you."

_Freckles?_

She tried to turn to see him, holding on to her in the storm, but the strong winds prevented movement. So she just stayed there, waiting for the winds to die down.

Finally they did, and she stood up instantly, and mumbling something along the lines of 'Thank you'.

"Is everyone okay?"

Looking around, she noticed that everyone was more or less okay. Then she saw a figure in the distance.

"Someone's over there!"

Luffy started running over to the form, but slowed down. Holly caught up with him, and saw the reason why.

"It's a skeleton…"

Vivi knelt down, almost crying, and Holly put her hands around her to comfort her.

"During that Sandstorm, it sounded as if the land was crying. What did the people of this kingdom ever do to deserve this? Why can't Crocodile just leave us alone? I'll never forgive that man as long as I live!"

Luffy, Sanji and Usopp headed off and destroyed a building in their anger.

"Let's go Vivi! We've been sitting here for too long. I'm gonna go and kick Crocodile's ass!"

Holly helped Vivi stand up, who nodded firmly, and they continued their journey across the desert.

…

"Aahh… Aahh… Aahh…Aahh… Too hot… I'm gonna burn up… Can't even sweat…"

Holly smiled weakly as the teenage boy struggled to move every step. She probably felt more uncomfortable than the others though, being a water human. Well maybe the reindeer felt worse. The poor thing couldn't even move, and had to be dragged along on a sleigh thing by Zoro.

She glared at Ace, who was apparently having no problems with the temperature.

"Why is it YOU don't feel like burning up, eh Freckles?"

"I'm a fire human. Temperature won't affect me."

"Stupid Bonfire Freckles…"

He smiled and said nothing, and Luffy continued complaining.

"Aahh… Can we… Rest… and have a drink?"

"Luffy! We need to keep moving to reach Yuba on time!"

"Please… Aahh…"

"Luffy-san, we'll rest at the next rocks okay?"

Holly struggled to move as they continued walking. The desert was really too much for her.

"Sorry everyone… I think I'm gonna just evaporate… Literally…"

She stumbled, and in her subconscious state, noticed everyone crowding around her. Finally, she blacked out.

_Sorry Vivi…_

When she woke up, she found herself staring directly up at Ace. She wanted to move, but her body absolutely refused to budge.

"The hell…?"

"So you're finally awake. Basically to update you, we lost most of our supplies to some dumb birds. We found a camel and two lizards, and ate the latter. Nami and Vivi are using the camel as transport, and because he's a pervert, he refuses to carry men. There's only space for two, so I carried you since you blacked out."

He smiled as she tried to struggle, although against his strong frame, she was completely powerless.

"Don't be stupid. You wouldn't last a couple of seconds if you have to walk again."

"Arigatou… Freckles…"

"Plus it's nice to have you under my control for once."

"You bastard… bonfire…"

Night soon fell, and so did the temperature. Of course, Chopper was now the happiest group member, feeling right at home. The others crowded around the campfire, or wrapped themselves in many layers to get warm. After dinner, everyone crept into the two tents they had to sleep, dividing each between genders, although Ace offered to sleep outside, to make space for everyone.

Holly tried to sleep, but there just weren't enough layers on top of her. An idea popped up in her brain, but she quickly dismissed it.

However, as the night wore on, the need for sleep finally won out against her pride, and she crept outside, heading to the lone figure that was lying there.

"Freckles Taichou… Oi… Wake up…"

She prodded him, only to let out a sound of bliss at the warmth of his body. Quickly reeling back her hand, she cursed herself, and prodded him again, keeping her teeth clamped shut.

When he stirred, it took him about five seconds to realise what she wanted, and that new knowledge was followed with a smug grin.

"I wonder… who was calling me the stupid bonfire earlier today?"

"Please… let me sleep next to you… Freckles …-sama."

"I didn't quite hear that, what was it again?"

"PLEASE LET ME SLEEP NEXT TO YOU FRECKLES-SAMA."

She glared at him as he pulled her next to him, smirking throughout. She couldn't keep the sigh of relief in as his warmth spread all over her. Of course, she hated herself for letting him hear it, no doubt he was grinning away. But she also appreciated his presence beside her. It was like that moment when she hugged him as a kid… That strange bond between them resurfacing again.

"Night… Freckles…"

Chapter 6 End

Dictionary-

Bento- Packed lunch

Arigatou- Thank you

-Sama – Extremely respectful honorific, usually used for people like kings and queens. In Japan, if you didn't address someone who deserved this type of honorific like this, it is extremely rude.

I'm not sure if you could count that as romance~ but it sure is a beginning :) anyway, I promise that at the War of Marineford there will be :) also, since I'm going on holiday, I will try and finish everything this week before I kiss Wi-Fi goodbye. So, please hope that I can finish everything, or I'll have to keep you waiting for 3 weeks :O!

REVIEW AND IMMA LOVE Y'ALL! :D


	8. A Duel and A Farewell!

Chapter 7- A duel and a farewell

Haha yes… they're going to separate from our favorite protagonists… SAD :(  
Anyways, enjoy! :]  
Oh yes I did some romance here~ but again, it's not entirely developed :)  
P.S I'm not going according to the actual story line, I know, I skipped Ido and all… sorry about that! :(

~Ace P.o.v~

_That serene face of hers when she slept... So unspoilt and untainted by anything. Her hazel brown hair took on a new colour in the dark, but still retaining its beauty. Almost like an angel, when she wasn't trying to tease someone._

And she always had that certain aura about her, since the day they met. But as for her own troubles, she had closed them off in some shadowy realm of her heart.  
  
He cleared his thoughts. Why was he thinking so much about her anyway? She was his childhood friend, so he ought to think about her anyway. Still, something inside him was unsatisfied with that answer.

When the first morning light shone across the horizon, Ace noticed his younger brother playing with a scorpion, and then throwing it away not because it was poisonous, but because it wasn't edible.

_You really haven't changed, Luffy_.

Suddenly, the little reindeer jumped on top of a rock, apparently sensing something. He began to feel it too. That familiar change in the wind, except this one was much more obvious. Looking to the north, he saw the giant storm making its way to them. It was at least ten times faster and stronger than yesterday's. Vivi was shouting warnings to everyone who was awake.

"Just five more minutes… please…"

He realised Holly was still waking up from her sleep. She was much too vulnerable and exposed for his liking. As the forceful storm approached, threatening to just engulf her small figure, he knew he was left with no choice.

He jumped on top of her, shielding her from the onslaught.

"Wha...?"

"Just stay still. Close your eyes and mouth."

~Holly p.o.v~  
She obeyed and stopped fighting his hold, but kept her eyes open. She looked up at his face, trying to observe it now that it was convenient to.

_The freckles, prominent as ever, gave that dangerous face away. She just loved the black hair... It looked so perfect to just ruffle through, pull him close and ..._

What was she thinking? She blushed at the mere thought. Still, her eye line couldn't help but fall to his lips.

She was so tempted to just touch them, and put her own lips there. The lips practically beckoned to her. Holly absolutely couldn't resist the urge to shift her view to his upper body. Sure, she saw that body of his everyday, but with it so up close and all... She couldn't lie; he did have very desirable traits.  
  
_Well she couldn't help it. She was only human. And Freckles had been blessed with the body of an Adonis. His upper body was sculpted well, muscles defined and physique so perfectly imperfect. _

She shook her head, trying to forget everything she had just thought.

_Stupid hormones._

The storm wore on, slowly thinning out. Eventually, the winds stilled, signaling the end of the storm. The Strawhats began getting up, either submerged beneath the sand, or just crouching. Their supplies were completely buried and ruined by sand, save the tents and barrels of water.

Fortunately for them, some ignorant Sandora lizards decided to make a meal out of the group. That idea backfired terribly on them. They were knocked out by Luffy and Sanji, sliced up by Zoro and roasted by Ace. Living kitchen tools.

Holly finished her serving of the tender meat, and observed the rest of the crew.

"Hey that piece of meat is floating! Sugeeeeeeei!"

She turned to look at the young captain, pointing at a piece of meat that quickly disappeared behind a rock. Nami, who had missed it, scolded him for being silly. However, he began to chase after it, not ready to let the meat go.

While the others dismissed it as Luffy's childishness, Ace and Holly knew otherwise. Their Haki had sensed two others in their presence. Transforming into their elements, they crept up onto the two intruders, who turned out to be a couple of boys, who turned out to be from the Badlands. In their possession was the piece of meat that Luffy was chasing after.

~Ace p.o.v~

"You guys are from the Badlands eh? Didn't your parents ever teach you not to steal?"

The two of them, shocked by Ace and Holly's sudden appearance, whipped around. The older looking one pulled out a gun and pointed it at them.

"This is our first meal in ten days! You aren't going to have it back!"

"Ni-chan! Does that really shoot bullets out?"

"I dunno… I've never tried… But it's this or nothing!"

The boy pulled the trigger, the bullet coming out in an instant. But to the Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division Commander, everything slowed down. Although it only happened in a few seconds, to him, the moments seemed to drag on, as he lifted the nearest rock, and knocked the bullet aside.

"Kid's shouldn't play with such dangerous things."

He glared at them a little, confiscating the pistol. Some of the crewmembers arrived at the rocks, watching the scene develop.

"We're so sorry! But please! You're really strong… Could you look for this guy and catch him?"

They took out a tattered photo of a middle-aged man in farmer get-up, holding a pitchfork. Ace stared at him closely.

_It's that man. Scorpion._

"His name is Scorpion…"

"I know that. This is the man who apparently defeated Blackbeard in Yuba."

The crew looked at the picture, somewhat unbelievingly.

"This guy defeated Blackbeard…?"

As Ace opened his mouth to reply, but narrowed his eyes. Holly apparently sensed it too.

"Two humans and a bird. Coming very near."

In confirmation of their Haki, an Ostrich carrying the man himself, Scorpion, trotted over from the nearby sand dune. What he, and the Strawhats, didn't expect was Luffy suddenly appearing from behind the man.

"Yo!"

"Luffy! What are you doing there?" The orange haired navigator yelled at her captain.

The straw-hat boy laughed, while Scorpion shouted his threat.

"Hiken no Ace! You're days of freedom are numbered!"

"Really? Please, tell me more, I'm rather interested." He smirked, accepting his challenge.

~Holly P.o.v~

Holly laughed watching the two beginning to do battle.

_This should be amusing. Wonder how long he'll last._

It turned out that he was of course, nothing but a bragger, completely lying about ever defeating Blackbeard. As fate would have it, the two kids were his sons. Scorpion had gone after Ace's head to prove to them they had to live for their dreams, no matter how impossible it seemed. They pleaded with him to forget about defeating Ace and return home with them. Unfortunately, when he finally began to listen to them, the shot meant for Ace from his bazooka hit the rock pillar above them, causing it to explode and result in rock fall, heading straight for the reunited family at the foot of the pillar.

Ace of course deflected the brunt of the attack with his fire, but a few stray rocks had still fallen and reached their target. It turned out that Scorpion had shielded his two sons from the danger. This story would have a happy ending though; he was not too badly hurt, and stood up again, to be hugged by his sons.

Holly turned away from the scene, feeling something ache inside. Something, long stabbed inside her heart.

…

~Ace P.o.v~

As the sun set over the desert, the group began to go their separate ways.

"So Ace and Holly… Are you guys really leaving now?"

"Yeah. Blackbeard isn't in Yuba, so we've no reason to stay. Luffy! Take this; it'll bring us back together." Ace smiled as he tossed his brother his Vivre Card.

"What's this? It's just a piece of paper…"

"Don't want it?"

"No, I'll keep it. I'll figure it out!"

"I know you will. Luffy, the next time we meet, we'll be stronger pirates. See you at the top!"

"Yeah, you too!"

As the Strawhats turned to say goodbye to the happy family that they had met that day, the pair slipped off into the desert, heading back to the Going Merry where his raft was.

"Ne Holly. You've been silent since that incident. You feeling alright?" He asked as he stopped walking, looking at his brown-haired companion.

She looked up, and only then did he realise that she was crying. Her olive green eyes were pools of sadness, while tear lines clearly shone on her cheeks. This was the second time he had seen her cry since their reunion.

"Why... was I abandoned? Is it wrong to wish … that I had parents who cared about me, like Scorpion did for his sons…? Why is it I never grew up… knowing the love that parents are supposed to give their children…?"

She buried her face in his chest, crying silently. He sighed, holding her close. Even he couldn't say that at least one of his parents never cared. To hell with his dad, his mother had sacrificed her life to hide all ties between him and his father, that he wouldn't be branded a criminal from birth. She had loved him like a mother, even if he had never known her.

But the girl he now held in his arms was different. She had been abandoned, tossed into the ocean. She held no love towards her past; she didn't have any warm memory of parents.

_What was there to love in her family, for a girl who had been unwanted by the very ones who brought her into this world?_

Chapter 7 end

Dictionary-

Sugei- Impressive, Terrific

Ni-chan- Older Brother

Well, I've decided I will write halfway, and by then I'll be going to England. So I'll write the other half on holiday, and upload everything as soon as I'm back. I hate having to leave you guys hanging! I feel so bad please forgive me DX!

And to a certain friend of mine: Yes I took out the Yaoi :P Sorry about that! ;)

R & R! (Read and review~!)

Love y'all! :')

-AXC333


	9. Nightmare Flower? Shichibukai Meeting!

Chapter 8- Nightmare Flower? Shichibukai Meeting!

Haha yep this is like one of the islands they went to during their great Blackbeard search. I'm also using this chapter as a foreshadow to the Sequel(guess who's our darling antagonist). Hope you like it!

Also I really like the shichibukai, except Teach. They're all really funny when you put them together:D

Slight language use like 'fag'.

The sky was clear, with the occasional white fluffy cloud passing by. But it wasn't hot either. It was cool, like on a spring day, with a tender breeze in the air. Holly, who was swimming, observed the ocean. She often saw many types of ocean plant-life that surrounded the coral reefs. When she was tired, she would just attach herself to the raft and allow herself to be pulled along.

As she watched seagulls fly around, she felt something soft land on her nose. Lifting it, she realised it was a petal, a rather peculiar one too. It was a deep shade of purple, but it seemed to release a strange aura. It was almost… sinister. But more importantly, the fact that there was a petal in the gentle breeze meant that there was an island nearby.

"Freckles! You see anything?"

No reply.

Uneasy, she climbed on board his little raft, to find him asleep.

"Jeez! I'm surprised you've survived all this while with that condition of yours." She sighed as she looked off into the horizon. And there it was, even though it was only a small dark speck, any experienced seafarer would know that meant that there was an island nearby.

She looked at Ace's log pose, to find that it wasn't pointing in that direction.

_An island without a magnetic pull? This should be interesting._

She guided the raft along to dock on that island. Sure enough, it was covered with strange plants. The ground was soft and earthy, apparently rather healthy, supporting so much plant growth. Then she felt that strange aura again, coming from the center of the island. She looked back at Ace, who was still fast asleep on the shores.

_Well, he's still asleep. Might as well explore a little._

She wrote a small message in the soil telling him that she was going to look around, and then headed into the jungle, determined to find the source of the petal.

_A few days ago, in Marie Jois, Shichibukai meeting… _

Sengoku entered the room, to find most of the Shichibukai inside. Save Crocodile, who had just been sent to Impel Down, all the members had arrived, although they were having an argument over some trivial matter.

_Just how did I get them all here? _He asked himself, also considering why he had bothered.

Well, Kuma and Jinbei had come like they usually did.

Mihawk, a bit of a surprise, had turned up because he had a "passing interest" in one of the pirates in the agenda of this meeting.

Boa Hancock, who was currently being her typical selfish self, he had blackmailed with the treaty of her people as he always did when he needed her to attend.

Moriah had come for his own unknown reasons, although it was likely because he was interested in the strength of the third pirate being discussed.

And Doflamingo, who was trying to make everyone kill each other now, had turned up for fun.

Regarding the last one, Sengoku sighed. That asshole was really going to kill the two rear admirals he was controlling if he didn't step in.

"Cease these childish games. I didn't summon you here to make fools of my subordinates." He yelled at the flamboyant man, who of course had his typical grin stretched across his face.

"I can't help that all marines below Vice-Admiral, no Admiral even, are all incompetent buffoons. The 'Marine Hero' there is a perfect example. He wouldn't notice even if we went and killed all the Tenryubito. Who knows, he might even sleep through a buster call." Doflamingo sneered, pointing at Garp who was taking a nap.

Sengoku glowered at him before taking his seat, beside the snoozing Garp.

"DAMMIT YOU IDIOTIC GARP!"

"Eh what?"

"Forget it… Anyway, moving on to the meet-"

Hancock was next to speak, or rather annoy him.

"You had better have had a very good reason for making us come here, insolent male! I have plenty more important things to do than coming to a shichibukai meeting."

"That's why you should just-"

"More important things Hancock? Like what? Admiring yourself in a mirror till you die of boredom?"

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU PATHETIC SWORDSMAN?"

"The truth hurts, Aphrodite-wanna-be."

"YOU SHUT UP DOFAGMINGO! I HAVE PLENTY A REASON TO KILL YOU AND I WILL BE FORGIVEN BECAUSE OF MY BEAUTY!"

A vein pulsed in Sengoku's forehead, as the two of them started an argument, hurling insults and threats at each other. Well sure she hated his guts, but Doflamingo was just arguing for fun.

"WILL THE PAIR OF YOU KINDLY SHUT UP BEFORE I DESTROY AMAZON LILY AND BRING TO LIGHT YOUR DEALINGS, RESPECTIVELY? Honestly, I'm beginning to seriously reconsider if the third topic was worth the trouble of getting all of you here. ESPECIALLY you two."

The pair sat down, refusing to look at each other in a somewhat childish and amusing manner, while Mihawk put his legs on the table.

"The first reason I called you all here, is because I would like to find a replacement for Crocodile, who as you all know, tried to take over Alabasta. Any suggestions?"

"Moriah's ass." Doflamingo suggested after a moment of silence, provoking another fight.

Before Moriah could rebut him, Sengoku shouted, "This isn't going to go anywhere is it? Might as well move on, and IGNORE that creative but redundant idea from Doflamingo." He emphasized 'Ignore', directing it at Moriah, who was about to kill his fellow shichibukai.

"We'll combine the next two topics, because of their similarity in nature. There have been two new rookies coming to our attention. One of them is a certain Monkey D. Luffy," He paused to glare at Garp, while a couple of the Shichibukai snickered, "And the other is a girl called Holly, who apparently comes from Whitebeard's second division."

"You've accomplished quite a feat, managing to make your following generations into criminals, eh Garp?" Mihawk stated nonchalantly.

"It's that damn red-haired friend of yours who poisoned my grandson's mind."

"ANYWAY," Sengoku interrupted, "This Luffy is dangerous. He's taken out Crocodile, and has apparently had the wanted criminal Nico Robin join his crew. The Gorosei want you to deal with him, so do your duty for once please. Now the second pirate who I want to talk about is the main reason this meeting was mandatory." He paused as he sipped some tea.

"She has a devil fruit of strange quality. For the Devil Fruit users gathered here, I'm sure you know how if I threw you into the ocean now, you'd drown. But this girl is different. Her devil fruit is somewhat of a legend. She has the Mizu Mizu no Mi, which as you should guess is technically contradictory to the standard devil fruit weakness."

Most of the marines looked surprised, while the Shichibukai, save Jinbei and Kuma, took interest.

"This girl, Holly, is currently part of Whitebeard's crew. However… If you come across her, I request that you subdue her. I don't like the idea of this girl on the opposing side of the law. If my hunch, and an old devil fruit legend, is correct, she has the potential to defeat even the Admirals and myself, which would be troublesome."

Moriah, who was obviously thinking of taking her shadow, and Doflamingo, who was grinning widely, said at the same time:

"I'll deal with her."

Instantly, they turned on each other.

"What was that, you stupid Flamingo fool?"

"I'll be the one to take her, you oversized haunted house decoration."

"Just what do you mean by 'take her'?" The Fleet Admiral sweat-dropped.

Boa Hancock frowned, looking at the newly issued wanted poster of the girl.

"I don't see how she could possibly be more beautiful than me. While one of those two buffoons over there," she motioned to her fellow Shichibukai who were fighting, Has taken a fancy to her, I am still the world's most beautiful woman. Thus I can't believe you see her as a threat, you idiotic Fleet Admiral."

"Oh come on Hancock… Even a slug would be more attractive than you, bitchy woman."

"What was that you gay Flamingo?"

Sengoku face-palmed as the two began to try and kill each other again, although Doflamingo easily defeated her.

"Were you all even listening to me or just looking at the poster…?"

One of the marines finally spoke up, "But are you sure she really deserves over 100 million in her first wanted poster?"

"That is something we'll only have to find out." Sengoku sighed looking at the girl.

What Akainu had said the previous day echoed in his head.

"_This girl… If I come across her, I will kill her. She is too much of a threat, running free like that."_

Well, sure, but something about his words still unsettled him. She wasn't some sort of evil spawn that disagreed with Akainu's sense of justice anymore than most pirates, although of course he would preferably destroy every last pirate in the world. Just what did that Admiral want with her?

_Back in the present, the girl in question has trekked into the center of the island she had arrived in…_

She stood in awe of the giant plant. It was like many flowers coming together to form one large plant. But she also held back in fear of the strong power that was flowing out from it. It was more than sinister. It was completely evil.

"What is this…?"

Suddenly, she heard a voice echo around her.

"You're a useless daughter!"

_Then she heard it again, that scream that came from her nightmare on board the Merry._

She dropped to the ground as more shouts from so many different voices surrounded her.

"You aren't even my daughter! I'm going to kill you here and now for biting the hand that fed you!"

"Mama run!"

"I love you…"

"I'll find you and kill you, scum!"

She covered her ears, but the voices just became louder. She was so confused. Holly could feel both love and hate from the voices. Yet she couldn't differentiate any of them in all her angst.

"Stop! Go away!" She heard herself scream amongst the flurry of voices, but they continued louder and more chaotic.

"You really are such an entertaining victim… She heard a voice purring, this time a real one in the present around her.

Looking up and glaring, through hot tears, she saw her antagoniser sitting nearby. Holly, through her angst, perceived his name. Donqixote Doflamingo.

"Don't look at me like that. It wasn't me who intruded on someone's home."

"This is your home?" She spat with all the strength she could manage, which wasn't much at all.

"Oh yes, one of them. I just love this plant. People call it the flower of nightmares. To put it simply, it twists all your buried memories into something much darker. So go on, keep making that face of fright and pain, I just love watching it."

"You freaking sadist… Leave me alone!"

She tried to stand up and run, turn into water, anything to get away from him and the voices that pounded in her head. But his nickname suited him well, 'The Puppet Master'. She found herself running towards him, completely controlled by him. He grabbed her chin, his purple shades level with her eyes, no doubt his own gleaming from behind the lenses.

"You aren't ready yet… Still too soon… But I'll have you in the distant future."

She scowled and tried struggling, but she knew it was in vain. And still the voices in her head pushed her over the edge, threatening to destroy her sanity.

"I regret having to leave now, but your friend is waking. Once you fall back into your despair, you'll soon forget this memory, drowned by all the others. Until the next time, Holly."

He disappeared, and the previously muffled voices rang out clear and loud in her head again. She writhed on the ground in terror, barely registering Ace when he burst through the plant foliage, scooping her small frame up, and taking her away from that god-forsaken place. And finally fainting, to protect her mind from destroying itself.

…

_Later that night…_

"Are you okay? You've finally woken up.

Holly blinked stirring from her sleep, and looked around. It was the shores of the island. Her mind was completely blank, only remembering one word. Pain. She looked up at Ace and smiled weakly.

"Yeah I'll be fine. It's over. It was just a damn plant with some stupid powers." She noticed the worry that flickered in his eyes for a moment longer, before it disappeared as he nodded.

_Something deep inside argued with her. There was something more to it. Someone had been there, someone she didn't like. But the more she tried to remember, the clearer the numb pain she had felt became. Finally she gave up, not wanting the unbearable pain to return. Perhaps it was just an illusion. Perhaps it was just a dream._

_But 'perhaps' was never for sure._

Chapter 8 End!

Whew… Longest chapter ever! XD This is the second-last chapter before I fly off! I will probably upload the next chapter tomorrow or Friday absolute latest.

Anyway, hope you all love it! Review please! Comeon guys you should be like SilverHerron! I know there are some of you who aren't reviewing… DO IT!

-AXC333)


	10. Separation on Banaro Island! War Trigger

Chapter 9- Separation on Banaro Island! War Trigger!

Well yes I know, there should be some sort of time gap in between the Banaro Island incident and Luffy turning up on Amazon Lily but… This is Fanfic y'all :) Please review!

_Ace has been relentlessly hunting Blackbeard for nearly two months. Finally, his search takes him and Holly to Banaro Island. However, Holly began to have different feelings regarding the search... _

Holly had swum, day and night not bothering to eat or sleep. She had long stopped trying to hold in the tears that were dying to flow out. She would eventually hit an island or a ship. Right now, she had no wishes to return to anyone, to be with that asshole. He could go catch Blackbeard himself for all she cared.

_~A few days ago, Banaro Island…~_

"I'm sure he's gonna be here. I'm positive this is where that bastard's hiding."

The pair of them walked through the little town, having just eaten a meal in a small restaurant.

"That's the hundredth time you've said that…"

"So what? I'm going to hunt him till the day I find him. He killed a nakama and jumped ship. I won't ever let him roam free."

Holly stopped walking, looking solemnly at the ground.

"Ne… Ace… I miss the others. I want to go back and see Marco… Haruta… and Oyaji… Everyone… Why don't we stop this search? We've been looking for him for so long, but we never catch him."

Ace turned around to face her, glaring furiously.

"Are you one to give up so easily? Not that I'd expect you to understand. You haven't known Thatch as long as I had!"

The moment it was out of his mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing. He tried to mumble something along the lines of 'sorry', but he already knew it was too late for that.

Holly looked up; this time she had an expression of anger on her face he had never seen before. Yes, he had seen her cry from genuine sorrow, but the look on her face was something she had never shown to him before.

She lifted her hand and slapped him hard on his cheek, leaving a red mark there. Then, trying not to burst into tears, she shouted at him,

"What's wrong with you? I didn't know Thatch as long as you have? I miss Thatch just as much as you do! You guys… were all my family! I love you all like a family,"

She bit her lip, before continuing,

"Because you are the only family I've ever had in my life! I just want everyone to be back together again! Thatch probably would've wanted that too. But hearing you say such a thing… Suggesting that I don't understand the rage everyone felt when he died… Go find your dumb Blackbeard and feel good, whatever! Just leave me alone!"

Unable to look at him anymore, Holly ran off to the shore of the island, away from Ace. The hurt that welled up inside of her threatened to swallow her up with each step she took.

"Holly wait!"

She ignored him and kept running, till she was nearly out of sight. He wanted to chase after her, but his pride held him back. Then he heard the deep throaty voice from nearby.

"Leave her be. She'll just get in the way. Long time no see, eh Ace Taichou?"

Ace whipped around in anger, recognizing the voice, that long chased after voice.

"Don't call me that. You've long forfeited your place on Whitebeard's crew… Teach."

_~Back in the Present, Holly's location…~_

Suddenly, through all her senseless movement, she realised she could no longer feel any currents at all. Holly resurfaced, and felt no wind either.

_The Calm Belt. Well that's just perfect._

She remembered that technique she had developed. Well… She hadn't really tested it out much. Everyone had water that made sounds and those vibrated throughout the sea… And somehow, well she could feel the water vibrate inside her as long as they weren't too far. It took a lot of concentration though…

At first, she wanted to find her crew. But considering they were in the New World, it was probably too much of a distance. And she would likely only be able to sense anything in the Calm Belt anyway. The Grand Line itself was too erratic.

Holly closed her eyes, concentrating, listening. Then she heard it. Many different sounds, all gathered in one place. It wasn't just humans though… some animals too.

_Well whatever… I might as well go. I'm starving. _

She traveled through the still sea, only looking up to check her location and finally, she came to the island. It seemed like they were having a party of some sort.

_Great. Plenty of food to spare for me then._

As she lifted herself up onto the shore, she suddenly felt her legs give way. Well that was a given, not resting or eating for over four days. She felt her vision blurring, stumbling into a building, food and cheer being her only compass. She heard concerned voices, but everything was dulled by her exhaustion.

…

…

…

Her eyes fluttered open. She saw many faces peering at her from above.

"She's awake!"

"Make sure it's a girl this round."

"It's definitely a female. Is she okay?"

Holly blinked, a little stunned by the bright lights around. Finally her eyes adjusted, and she stood up, looking around. Women with snake staffs surrounded her. She soon realised that they were actual snakes, to her surprise.

"I'm so sorry about that… Where am I?"

"This is Amazon Lily, the island of women. Who are you?"

"I'm Holly. How long have I been out…?"

While someone replied, she noticed quite a few of the villagers clustering round someone. The first thing she recognized was the straw hat. Then she realized that the women around him were all stretching his cheek.

_It can't be him… But there's only one person who can stretch…_

"Luffy?"

The boy turned around and, pleasantly surprised by her appearance waved happily, then tried to swallow the food already in his mouth.

"Is that someone you know, Luffy-sama?"

Luffy smiled and nodded happily to the blonde girl who asked the question. Then he turned back to Holly.

"Yo! Holly! What are you doing here?"

"Well I drifted here… although what are you doing on the island of women...?"

"I ended up here… Shome stoopid Kuma guy sheparated me from my nakama… but choomorrow I'm gowing to get a wide back to Shabaody Archipewago! And…"

He paused to put down the huge bowl that he was eating from, and then snapped his face back from the intrigued women.

"Why are you guys stretching me? It's annoying and I can't eat or talk properly!"

"Sorry Luffy-sama! But it's so much fun to stretch you! You're the first male we've seen! Everyone! It's 20 Gor for 1 touch!"

Holly laughed as she watched, and ate, as the girls from the island found interest in Luffy. Eventually, Luffy was sent flying through the window. Transforming into vapor, she followed him, and the blonde girl who was with him.

She solidified, slightly shocking the girl, who turned out to be named Marguerite, but Luffy reassured her.

"Sorry for the shock. I haven't properly introduced myself have I? I'm Holly."

Marguerite smiled warmly, introducing herself. Then she suggested that the three of them head to Elder Nyon's house, being far away from all the commotion.

_After a lot of hopping across roofs, they come to a mountainous outcrop, where a lone house stands on the side of the mountain. The trio enters the house, where a small old lady is sitting reading a newspaper._

"Hello, Nyon-baasan! Luffy wanted to get away from the party since they were annoying him. And this girl, Holly, washed up on the shores."

"Yo bean grandma!"

"Welcyome dear. And who are you calling bean, Strawhat?"

She turned around and frowned slightly.

"Is something wrong, Nyon-baasan?" Marguerite asked while getting some tea from the kitchen.

"Hyolly… You are a pirate are you nyot? The one who gained a 140-million beli bounty?"

First shock, then joy appeared on Holly's face.

"I have bounty? And that much in one go? In your face Freckles!"

Upon saying the last word, her face become downcast, remembering their recent argument.

Luffy hadn't been paying attention, more rather he was eating the huge slab of meat that he had brought along, so he only noticed her sad expression.

"Is something wrong Holly?"

"Huh…? Oh nothing."

She brightened up, grinning.

_Forget it… I shouldn't think too much about him all the time._

"Hmm… Anyway… granny, is reading that newspaper that entertaining?"

"Well yes, also since Hebihime-sama is a shichibukai, it's impyortant for us to keep up to date with the wyorld outside the calm belt."

"Eh? Who's a shichibukai?" Luffy asked.

"Boa Hancock of course."

"EH? SHE'S A SHICHIBUKAI? !"

"Aren't you supposed to be a pirate nyon? You should knyow these things… But anyway, the way things are going, that title is in a precarious position"

Holly looked up from her green tea.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… There's going to be a war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Myarines, and the shichibukai are required to attend."

_The words hit her like an arrow to her heart. _

"White…Whitebeard Pirates…?"

Luffy looked equally shocked.

"Matte granny! There's a war between those two? What's happening?"

"Wyell… The government recently announced the execution of Portgas D. Ace in a week. This article is dated yesterday, so that means it'll be in six days. They say a pirate called Blackbeard caught him."

_If the news of the war had been an arrow, then hearing of Ace's execution was being on the receiving end of every weapon in existence at one time. Holly dropped her cup, not even flinching when the hot tea spilt all over her legs. _

"Hyolly! What's the matter? Strawhat you too!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luffy receiving the news just as bad as she was. Well he was his brother. But all she could do was hear the article repeat over and over in her head.

She heard Luffy shouting that Ace was his brother. But truly, the world went silent for her right then.

Finally, all the guilt that had built up inside of her since she heard the news exploded inside her.

"It's all my fault! What kind of pathetic excuse of a friend am I?" She cried out.

When she had needed him to comfort her and hug her, he had always been there. But where had she been when he was about to face his end? She had failed him. The truth stung inside her like poison slowly spreading through her system.

Then she felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see the straw-hat captain holding her.

"I dunno what you're talking about… But we have to go rescue Ace no matter what! He might not like me his little brother coming to save him… But I'm going to where he is anyway! I won't just sit around and let this happen. So, will you come with me?"

"Luffy…" He eyes blurred with the tears that were threatening to flood out, but she kept them in, and nodded.

"Wait you two! He's being kept in the top security prison, Impel Down! No one's broken in for 20 years. And later he'll be transported to Marineford, where all the top navy characters are. What could byoth of you possibly do? You could be killed and nyot change a thing."

Holly stared defiantly at the old woman who had spoken out.

"If I don't go save Ace, then I deserve to die. I have to go."

"Wyell… Given the amount of time… there's only one way to get to that prison. You see nyon, Hebihime has been required to go on the nearby warship to Marineford. Up until now, she has refused. But if you could persuade her to carry out her duty, she could sneak you two on board."

"Well what are we waiting for? We have to go find her now!"

Elder Nyon nodded and led the two of them to the castle.

As they ran, Holly closed her eyes and thought to herself.

_Ace had always been there for her. Holly… That name was from him. He was her first friend. Why had she allowed herself to get angry with him that day? She regretted it so much now, she wanted to cry and let all the guilt inside just pour out. But she wouldn't cry. If she cried she couldn't help him._

_And she swore that even if a demon stood in her path, she'd destroy that to save him._

Dictionary:

Oyaji- Pops

Gor- Amazon Lily Currency

Baasan- Grandma

Hebihime- Snake Princess (Hancock's epithet)

I'm planning to write just one more chapter tomorrow! I really hope you liked it! Anyway, I don't think I'm going to do Impel Down, but that'll be confirmed in the next chapter! :)


	11. Foolproof Plan? Aid From Hancock!

Chapter 10: Foolproof plan? Aid from Hancock!

Hehe so I managed to write one more chapter before my flight~ I've decided not to make Holly go to Impel Down, coz I have more reasons for her to turn up at Marineford. I won't spoil you too much, so all I'm going to say is it has to do with the admirals :).

Enjoy this chapter, and once again, I won't be active for the nex half weeks, so stay with me!

The trio arrived at the palace, only for a royal attendant to come out looking all flustered. Seeing Elder Nyon, she relaxed a little.

"Enishida! What's wrong nyon?"

"Hebihime-sama… She has contracted some unknown disease! I was on my way to get you, but you've turned up."

"This is terrible! Take me tyo her immediately! You two wait outside her room."

The two pirates reluctantly agreed, and waited impatiently, pacing up and down in the hallway leading to the royal chamber.

After sometime, the pair was graced with the appearance of the Snake Princess. Holly listened silently as Luffy pleaded with her. At first Hancock's two sisters were vehemently opposed to the notion of Hancock answering the call to assemble, but Hancock, merrily agreed. It turned out that Hancock was completely head over heels for Luffy.

Suddenly, she turned to Holly, with a tinge of recognition.

"You! You're the one that Sengoku thought could compete with me for the prettiest in the world aren't you? What are you here for? Do you wish to take my darling Luffy from me?"

"Eh…? What…? Don't worry; I swear I have no intention to compete with you… But more importantly, what else did the Fleet Admiral say about me? He can't possibly have just said that…"

Holly smiled a little awkwardly as the Pirate Empress made her silly claims.

"Humph… I'll take your word… But if I see you doing anything with Luffy…"

"Ah… Hebihime-sama… You're burning up…" Enishida pointed out as the queen fumed up.

"Anyway. The Fleet Admiral mentioned you in the previous meeting. You were the reason he made it mandatory apparently. He said something about subduing you and adding you… but the only threat anyone could possibly pose for me would be to take my title as most beautiful!"

"Ah. I don't think I'll be competition… honestly…"

"Well I don't think you could either, I AM the most beautiful lady in the world after all. Although that man is a complete idiot… A certain Shichibukai took interest in you."

"Who…?"

"Donqixote Doflamingo… That bastard slave-trader…"

_While Hancock went into her own world of insults, Holly was troubled by the name. It was familiar… too familiar. Not to mention in a very unwanted sense of familiarity. _

"What are you guys talking about?" The Strawhat captain dipped his head to one side, completely confused.

"Nothing… but Luffy… Will you really be going to Impel Down to rescue Freckles? I mean… That prison may not have the navy's top fighters, but the warden is rumored to be very hard to defeat. For a rookie like yourself, it might be dangerous." Holly asked the young captain, ignoring Hancock who was insulting her for belittling Luffy.

"I don't care. I'm going to do whatever it takes to rescue Ace! Even if I die!"

"I see… But… Incase, just incase you don't manage to rescue him from the prison, I have a backup plan."

"Backup plan…?"

"Yes… but it will require Hancock-san's cooperation. I know you have absolutely no obligation to help me, but take it as you are helping Luffy." Holly said, secretly rolling her eyes when Hancock objected.

She threw a _'How on earth do you manage?'_ look to Elder Nyon, who just smiled, and shook her head.

"Very well then. If it will help Luffy, then I will hear you out."

"_Thank you. _Now, let's just say Luffy falls short on rescuing Ace from Impel Down. His obvious move would be to go to Marineford. I think it would be best if you brought me to Marineford straight away. Using my devil fruit abilities, I will transform into water vapor, and fill up a bottle. You can then fill it HALF FULL with water, and bring it on board the marine warship, along with Luffy, however you intend to smuggle him in. Whenever there's food, I will come out of the bottle and eat, then return afterwards. Understand so far?" She paused, as Hancock nodded slowly.

"Good. Now after the detour to Impel Down, where I assume you will smuggle Luffy in, you will proceed straight to Marineford. You will be put in a room together with the Shichibukai. Obviously, you will receive refreshments, if not, ask in all your capacity as most beautiful. When the others aren't looking, leave that bottle, open, on a table. I will come out of it and hover around in the back ground in my gaseous form. Finally, when you've all left, I will head down to the execution stand. It's obvious that those with Haki will sense me, but I'll quickly rescue Ace, and he'll deal with them for me."

She grinned a little at the last statement, but then frowned again, still not so ready to forgive her comrade. In the meantime, Hancock nodded, considering the risks. Luffy on the other hand was grinning widely.

_Something's not right… There's no way he could have understood that plan…_

His next words confirmed her suspicions.

"I don't really get it, but I heard 'rescue Ace', so I approve!"

Holly sighed, looking at the boy.

_Was this really the kid who had declared war on the world and punched a Tenryubito? _

"But what if Luffy rescues Ace successfully?" The pirate empress asked.

"Well, just pretend I'm your average bottle of water. When the news is revealed, I'll just come back to Amazon Lily with you. Oh and Luffy, if you do rescue Ace, please return to this island. You will remember won't you?"

Luffy gave the same wide grin, causing Holly to sweat drop.

"Yeah!"

_He definitely won't remember._

"Jeez. Here, take my vivre card. You know how to use them right?"

The boy nodded, then looked as if he remembered something. He took out another piece that was slowly disappearing; it's edges black, tiny embers flowing out from it

"Ace's vivre card… It's burning…"

"That means his life force is fading. We have to hurry. So, Hancock-san… You need to respond to the marines who are waiting elsewhere. To make sure you help Luffy to the fullest." Holly added the last statement to ensure that Hancock complied.

"Of course! Anything for my darling Luffy! Enishida, bring the Den Den Mushi now!"

"Right away, Hebihime-sama!"

_Six days… Six days before his fate is decided. Well… he doesn't deserve my help after what he said but… I have to put those feelings aside. Ace is my nakama. I will do whatever it takes to rescue a nakama. It doesn't matter whether it was Ace or any other Whitebeard Pirate._

_Wait for us Ace. We're coming._

~End of Chapter 10~

Okay, well this is the end of the first half of the story! I hope you enjoyed it so far. Like I said, I won't be around for the next two weeks, so I won't be able to update it!

Stay with me okay~? ;)


	12. Calm Before A Storm

Chapter 11- Calm Before the Storm!

Hahahahahahahahaha FINALLY IM BACK! :D WOOTS! XD SORRY IF YOU GUYS WERE WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS INSTALLMENT!

OMG IT WAS TERRIBLE… I HAD WIFI BUT I COULDN'T USE BECAUSE THERE IS M18 STUFF ON THE WEBSITE BOOHOO AND I COULDN'T ACCESS IT BECAUSE OF A CONTENT LOCK…

I MEAN IMAGINE LUFFY SITTING INSIDE AN UNBREAKABLE GLASS CABINET, AND THERE'S THE WORLD'S TASTIEST MEAT RIGHT OUTSIDE IT.

ANYWAY. ON WITH THE STORY.

_The six days went by. Looking back at it, Holly realised that it had gone by rather quickly. But at the time, it had been so tiring as she sat in her bottle through the anxiety of each night. The only thing that had kept her from going mad was recalling the past, thinking of Ace._

_14 years ago, Mt. Corvo, near the Gray Terminal… _

"Gray Terminal?" The young Ace asked Holly as they walked down the leeward slope of Mt. Corvo.

"In case you didn't know, there's a kingdom on this side of the mountain."

"Really?"

"Yes. Well to put it simply, the Gray Terminal is their rubbish dump. But in truth… There's more to it than meets the eye."

She looked somewhat gloomy as she finished speaking. He looked at her curiously, but she just sighed.

"You'll see what I mean."

They smelt it before they saw it. It was worse, much worse than the occasional rotting carcass of an animal they came across in the forest. Yes, there was that decomposing smell, but there was also the stench of illness, human waste, and of course garbage mixed in.

Ace looked around, seeing many rouges and criminals in the area. People were killing, stealing and much more. There was no law in this place. It was really, survival of the fittest here.

"All criminals and ruffians are exiled here, along with their families. They are forced to shift through the garbage in hopes of finding something of worth to sell inside the city for a living. The law from the kingdom does not extend to this area, so I suggest you watch your back."

No sooner had she finished, did a group of thugs approach them.

"You shouldn't come here without your parents you know… Should we find them for you?"

Their voices were laced with sarcasm, and Ace prepared to fight, but Holly shook her head, and turned to face the thugs. Instantly, their faces instantly taking on a look of pure fear, and instantly fell over themselves apologizing.

"We're so sorry Holly-sama! We mistook you for someone else…"

They quickly disappeared behind a mountain of trash, Ace looking curiously at Holly, who was smiling proudly to herself.

"Sama? Just what did you do to them?"

The devious smile that played across her lips really scared him to the bone.

"Hmm? Oh let's just say they may encounter difficulties becoming a father after I dealt with them."

"I… see…"

"Of course you do! I imagine every male would."

She shrugged indifferently, although Ace made a mental note not to get on her bad side.

"Anyways, I come here to get bottles. Bottles don't grow on trees, so I came across this place, and those unfortunate hooligans." Looking at his face go green, recently having drunk from the bottles she laughed, "Of course I wash them you idiot! I would've died by now wouldn't I?"

He considered it, still looking a little unbelieving of her, but eventually accepted her logic.

"Why don't we go down to the beach then? I feel like getting some shells…"

"Are shells really that nice to collect?"

"Well they are pretty… But there's a song about shells telling the tales of the sea. I'm not sure where I heard it but… It sounds really nice."

He looked at her for a while, and then he asked with a light grin,

"Could you sing it for me if you remember it?"

She nodded happily, and begun.

"_Each night by the beach,_

_I hear the waves crash upon the shore,_

_Yet with each wave comes a shell._

_And when I put them to my ears to listen, _

_I hear them singing a soft lullaby,_

_Telling me about their ocean,_

_Telling me about their world,_

_Each shell so unique,_

_Their tales never quite the same._

_So I listen… and hear their unspoken song,_

_Like the waves that crash upon the shore,_

_Each night by that beach."_

When she had finished, she saw Ace staring at her with wide eyes.

"You sing very well…"

"T…Thanks!" Holly blushed sheepishly upon hearing the compliment.

_It was a beautiful memory, just thinking about it. Even if at the time it had not seemed like much, just thinking of Ace now made her feel nostalgic. Even as Hancock was ushered into the room where four other Shichibukai were gathered, Holly paid her surroundings no heed. _

_But finally she looked at the clock, she realized just how soon Ace was in danger of becoming nothing but a memory. _

_11:50… Three hours and ten minutes before the execution is due._

_Holly decided to listen to the Shichibukai, who were talking amongst themselves to pass the time._

"Yo Hancock! You finally decided to join us then?"

"Silence you insufferable flamingo! I have my own reasons for deciding to join this waste of time. And you will address me as Hebihime-sama!"

"What was that you bitchy snake woman?"

"If you two intend to start a fight, at least go outside and settle it. It's annoying for those who want to sleep."

"Fufufufufufu… Fine, Freak-Eyes… Anyway Moriah. I heard you had yourself defeated by a rookie! How embarrassing that must've been."

"That stupid kid… I swear I'll kill him the next time we cross-paths."

"Maybe you were just too weak, you obese purple leek."

"Simpleton. That crew isn't one to be underestimated."

"And may I ask why, Weird-Eyes?"

Mihawk proceeded to ignore the question and insult, although Moriah answered.

"They did do some crazy things, although only an idiot wouldn't have heard."

"Oh yes I heard! They declared war on the world, and punched a Tenryubito. Damn it, I wish I had been in the auction house when that happened. It's fun watching those good for nothing space wasting nobles getting defied."

"I am inclined to believe that that's your idea of fun, you foolish male. Still… My darling Luffy is such a brave and daring man, standing up against those…"

The rest of the Shichibukai tuned out from Hancock, who trailed off into her own world of insults against the Celestial Dragons.

_Now's the chance to sneak the bottle onto that table._

Apparently the pair of them had thought the same thing at the same time. Hancock took a sip from the bottle, and then placed it in front of her.

Just as she had, a marine solder came into the tatami room.

"Hancock-dono! Doflamingo-dono! Moriah-dono! Kuma-dono! And Mihawk-dono! The fleet admiral requests that you head down to the plaza to get ready."

_Perfect distraction. For once these weakling marines have been useful._

She floated out of the bottle, and hovered over in the corner, while the Shichibukai left the room. The last to leave was Doflamingo. He turned around and stared straight through her, his peculiar sunglasses almost piercing right through her.

_No way… He couldn't possibly sense me in this form… Unless he had a perfect control over his Colours of Observation Haki… Then again, he is a shichibukai; I really shouldn't be underestimating him._

"Um… Doflamingo-dono… please hurry!"

"I got it, you annoying little pest!"

His grin stretched wider for just one split moment before he turned around and exited the room.

_Did he really see me? Well whatever. I had better move if I want to be on time to save Ace. Apparently Luffy didn't succeed. It's my turn now._

End of Chapter 11

Still so happy that I'm back! :) Although the Holiday was good~!

And~ I really dunno why I'm doing this Hancock in her own world of insults things… Gah I'm going crazy ;)

Dictionary:

-dono: A honorific used for official business, or if the person you're addressing is your inferior in rank. In this case, it's the former. (I can't imagine flamingo would be rather merciful to the marine if it was the latter.)

Did I leave anything out? If I forgot, please point out in a review if you need it~! :)

R&R

-AXC333


	13. Victim of Prejudice! Outraged Words!

Chapter 12- Victim of Prejudice! Outraged Cry!

This is an awesome~ Chapter~! Fangirls rejoice, Ace is freed in this chapter :D OOPS SPOILER SOORRRRY 3

_Plaza, on the execution stand…_

Sengoku walked up the tall staircase to the top of the execution stand. All the marine forces had gathered. And those in Sabaody Archipelago were all watching the live broadcast with anxiety. Reporters from all over the world were there, waiting for the start of the war.

And everyone all over the world would not be able to sleep until this war was over.

He knew what he was about to say would have a great impact on the world. So much shock that the people watching would experience. No doubt it would be all over the newspapers.

He picked up the receiver of the Den Den Mushi that was connected to the broadcast system.

"I have something important to say to you all before the war. First Ace let me ask you a question. Who is your father?"

"Whitebeard! Whitebeard is my father and no one else!"

"Not true!"

"He is!" Ace was shouting defiantly at the Fleet Admiral, the anger in his voice unmistakable.

"The Marines once searched a certain island in South Blue. We had received information that a certain man may have had a child. We checked newborns, children who were born, and even pregnant women. Yet we failed to find that child, despite all our efforts, and there was a reason."

He paused as he let those listening digest his words.

"That reason was the child's mother. Whether it was sheer willpower or something else, we do not know. But by some way or another, this woman held onto the child for twenty months! Long after the death of the father, she finally gave birth. And this child grew up. Ace! That child was you! Your mother was Portgas D. Rogue! And your father… was Gol D. Roger, the previous pirate king!"

The marines could say absolutely nothing as the news sunk in. On Sabaody Archipelago, citizens let out their own utterly shocked reactions, whereas reporters scurried back and forth to contact their headquarters.

For this would hit the headlines tomorrow, regardless of the war's outcome. The Pirate King had a son.

"This is why, Portgas D. Ace, your execution today is of upmost importance. Even if we were to wage war on Whitebeard, we must not allow the son of a demon to live."

Garp, who stood besides the execution stand, sighed. Roger's words echoed in his ears.

"_Garp! A newborn child bears no sin! Take care of my son for me!"_

And then everything happened in an instant.

Out of the blue, the watch tower suddenly caught sight of at least 40 ships, all of whom were notorious captains from the new world, no doubt the allies of Whitebeard. The alarm was raised and MarAnd finally, Whitebeard himself emerged from the ocean, having coated his ship.

The two forces were assembled… Everyone was about to charge at each other…

And suddenly, something not even Sengoku or Whitebeard could've foreseen happened. And as it happened, they all stopped, and listened.

"All of you! Pirates and Marines alike! And those who watch from Sabaody Archipelago! Listen to what I have to say!" Holly's voice rang out through the plaza from the broadcast.

Ace, listened in absolute disbelief. Amongst the Whitebeard Pirates, there were murmurs of her name.

"The war today… The reason behind this war! To all fellow pirates, the reason for you to fight this war is to prevent Ace's execution. But the reason the Marines provoke this war, is because of Ace's bloodline!

Do you know what they said? _Even if we must wage war on Whitebeard, we must not allow the son of a demon to live! _

Tell me Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Why is being the son of the pirate king wrong? What crime has Ace committed? On what basis did you judge him? That he would commit the same crimes as his father?

It is because of your prejudiced views that he has turned to a life of piracy! You have all pushed him into a corner! You mark him as a criminal; give him no chance to prove you all wrong! Do you expect him to join the Marines, even when to them and the world his life is a sin?

He once told me as a child that when he was older, he would live his life with all the freedom he wanted! That child who spoke to me had no freedom when he was branded a criminal since birth. Day in day out, he would hear people say 'If Roger had a son? We should kill him! Torture him!'

Marines! I am Holly of the Whitebeard Pirates! You asked the Shichibukai to subdue or convert me. So I believe you want me to become one of your dogs?

Then here is my answer! I will never serve an organization like yours that judges a child for his parent's sin! I would rather die the slowest death possible!"

She paused, and suddenly a jet of water shot out from a window in the marine HQ. It shot straight into the keyhole of Ace's shackles.

"She couldn't be…" Sengoku started with shock as he witnessed it, and began transforming. All three admirals were jumping up to the stand at an alarming rate. But unfortunately for them, they were a tad too late.

_Click._

_The one sound the Marines gathered had dreaded to hear resonated throughout the plaza._

The plaza was so silent that you could even hear the sound of the shackles unlocking from where the pirates where. Then strident cheers from the Whitebeard Pirates, and all the pirates assembled.

"Ace is free! Let's go kick the Marines' Ass's for trying to execute Ace!"

Ace, who couldn't even believe everything, stood up slowly. Holly reformed besides him, grinning.

"Thank you…"

"In return, you have to help take out four extremely angry top marines. Think you can handle that?"

She motioned to the Fleet Admiral who was in full devil fruit form, a golden Daibutsu, and the three Admirals, who were all ready to blast them with their elements. They all were apparently exceptionally humiliated by their oversight.

Ace grinned and charged at Sengoku, the pair of them falling to the ground to do battle.

She faced the three remaining Admirals.

"Oh come on! Three Marine Admirals versus me? That's so unfair…"

Her lips played into a pout, and she jumped into the ocean, evading the combined Light, Magma and Ice attacks that were directed at her.

"Umitou!"

The ocean surged up, forming a huge Tsunami, which she directed at the marines.

Of course, Aokiji jumped up and froze it before it wiped out the lesser marines below. However in doing that, Holly saw an opening, and charged at him.

"Rapids Speed!"

Her kick connected, and he fell to the ground, she jumped back into the ocean and rode on another wave.

"Jeez! Now that the pirates have reached the Marines, I can't use that anymore! Spoilsport!"

"Watch yourself, pirate~"

She recognized the voice of Kizaru who kicked a beam of light at her.

_Damn he's too fast!_

The beam of light was inches away from her when suddenly a huge burst of blue flames appeared in front of her.

"Marco!"

"You can't take on the three admirals by yourself you know! Thanks to you, Ace is free. You know, you two are-"

A huge blast of fire, followed by lots of smoke, somewhere to the left of them formed the words: "Shut up Marco"

"Are?"

"Forget it, he'd burn me later if I say anything more." Marco grinned, leaving Holly completely confused.

Suddenly, a huge shadow blotted out the sun. Turning away for a moment, she saw a huge ship falling out of the sky.

"Eh…? Isn't that a marine ship?'

"YO ACE! SORRY I'M LATE! SHISHISHISHI!"

A beam of light flew at the pair, which Marco deflected with a swift movement of his wings, eyes trained on the figures that were falling out of the sky.

"Ah. I thought someone was missing." Holly said to herself before shouting to the boy,

"OI MUGIWARA! IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP, THERE WON'T BE ANY MARINES LEFT FOR YOU TO DEFEAT!"

Both Marco and Holly sweat dropped as Luffy laughed while crashing flat into the plaza.

"I know it doesn't make sense, but that's Ace's brother."

"Yup. It certainly doesn't make any sense at all."

End of Chapter 12.

Woots! Ace is freeeeee~ :D And Luffy crashed into Marineford lol XD. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Keep reading and reviewing~! I know the Admirals + Sengoku should've sensed Holly but~ just take it as a very big mistake on their part, because they were all caught extremely off guard. :) (Dumb Marines~) And I kept thinking of Ace Attorney when Holly appeared x) dahahahaha silly me. :P

Dictionary:

Den Den Mushi- Telephone snail in the world of One Piece. There are different types.

Daibutsu- A large statue of the Buddha. In this case, Sengoku's devil fruit is the Hito Hito no Mi: Model Daibutsu. (Hito=Human)


	14. Reunion of Brothers

Chapter 13- Reunion of Three Brothers!

SABO~ OwO Oops total spoiler… although the chapter's name in itself is a spoiler :) Enjoy~! I really hope Sabo is alive… coz poor Luffy would be the only one left from that trio of brothers if he's dead and I like that trio :/ And the other trio that most people don't notice is Ace, Marco and Thatch and now Marco is alone :(

"Ace! You're really free!" Luffy cried with delight as he ran up to his older brother, who was taking on three vice admirals at the same time. Sengoku had disappeared elsewhere, dealing with some pirates who had interrupted their fight.

"Yeah! Holly outsmarted the Marines! And…"

He shot a lazy version of his 'Hiken' at each vice admiral, easily taking them out.

"You guys should really knock it off."

"You two! Do you think I'm going to let you escape that easily?"

The pair of brothers turned around to face Vice Admiral Garp, who was heading straight for them with a fist of love.

"ACK IT'S JIJI! RUN!'"

Both brothers ran away from the charging Garp at a speed that even Kizaru would have competition with.

"THERE'S NO ESCAPE FROM A FIST OF LOVE!"

Some of the Whitebeard Pirates who were watching were utterly surprised.

"Ace Taichou is running away… Scary… I don't ever want to fight Garp…"

Ace and Luffy were eventually sent flying after being pummeled by Garp. Luckily for them, they were sent quite a distance from Garp.

"That… Baka Jiji is… a monster…"

"Yeah…"

"Anyway, I wanna go find Holly… She was fighting all three admirals earlier, until Marco helped her. Plus that stupid flaming blue chicken could be spouting nonsense right now…"

"Let's go!"

"Wait Luffy. I don't think you're ready to take on the admirals. They're ten times stronger than that monster grandfather…"

"Is that how you two talk about me behind my back?"

The sinister figure loomed over them threateningly, and the brothers broke out in cold sweat.

"Luffy… RUN!"

The pair took off at an even faster speed, but still fell prey to the fist of love that was directed at them. They were sent flying through a group of marines, and right up to the execution stand that was now a pile of rubble.

Ace registered another presence, the shadow that the person cast fell on them.

"Yo! Guess you guys can't even manage without me huh? I mean getting caught for execution that soon? Weren't you the strongest Ace?"

The voice was so familiar. And when both brothers placed the voice, they looked up, completely unbelievingly. They weren't sure whether to believe their eyes or not, afraid they were simply imagining him.

Either ways, there he stood, no doubt looking more grown up. He had recovered his favourite hat, and was carrying a staff similar to the pipe the three of them carried as children. His blonde hair was still set in the same hairstyle as nine years ago, although his face was more angular.

"S…Sabo?"

"Yo! Did you guys miss me?"

Ace stared at the boy for sometime in shock, before dipping his head sadly.

"I get it… Sabo's ghost has come to haunt us for not protecting him…"

"EH REALLY? I'M SO SORRY SABO…" Luffy said in shock before dipping his head sadly too.

"BAKAYARO! I'M NOT DEAD! I'm a revolutionary now! One of them saved me when I was floating in the ocean."

"Revolutionary…? Ah! Then you met dad!" Luffy grinned widely

Sabo tilted his head to one side.

"Dad?"

"Ah… Jiji told me that Dragon was my dad."

"Dragon… IS YOUR DAD?" His two brothers looked at him in utter shock, their jaws dropping as low as the ground.

"Dunno why every one looks at me like that when they find out… It's so amusing. Shishishishi!"

Ace and Sabo looked at their brother, who was laughing away as he usually did.

"For some reason that's crazier than Roger being your dad."

"Aye. I wonder who the mother was…"

"They say opposites attract…"

"Anyway… I'm just happy to know you're alive… I'm sure that idiot over there," Ace motioned to Luffy, "Feels the same too. But why are you here?"

"I heard someone was getting executed. Who do I have to thank for saving you?"

"Holly. She's in my division. Before I met you, she came to our island. She drifted there at least. Oh yeah that reminds me, she's still in danger of hearing nonsense from that flaming chicken Marco."

"Ace! Would you mind telling me why the brat who's with you looks familiar?"

Garp stood behind them, having caught up with them and now his shadow hung over them.

"You met him before. This is Sabo."

"You're Garp aren't you? Dragon told me to say 'Hi'!"

"He did? Oh how nice of him to think of me! Now… I BELIEVE AN EXPLANATION IS IN ORDER FOR A WORRYING FATHER REGARDING HIS WHEREABOUTS."

"That was so obviously transparent… Baka Jiji…"

"IS THAT HOW YOU TALK TO YOUR GRANDFATHER?"

"Sabo… when I say run, get Luffy and get out of here at the speed of light…"

"YOU ALL NEED A FIST OF LOVE!"

"RUN!"

Sabo picked up Luffy who was still laughing like a complete moron.

"Yo Sabo! What's the… AH IT'S JIJI AGAIN!"

The trio ran together until they finally managed to outran Garp, who was interrupted by a bunch of Pirates. A few explosions over the sea alerted Ace. He could see Marco and Holly, still managing, but having slight problems dealing with all three admirals.

"You two stay here. The war is almost won. Oyaji only wants us to deal considerable damage to the Marines, which means taking out the brass. I'll deal with one of the admirals. Sabo, I'm not sure whether you can take on the admirals but…"

"Relax! Luffy and I will finish off the Vice Admirals. You just worry about defeating an Admiral."

Sabo smiled reassuringly, beginning to head off, Luffy in tow.

"Plus I'm sure he wants some time alone with that girl." Sabo added to Luffy who grinned, although he wasn't completely sure why.

"I HEARD THAT!"

_~Holly P.o.v~_

_She and Marco stood on the frozen surface of the ocean, which barely had any unfrozen patches of water left._

Another one of Akainu's magma fists flew at them, coupled with Kizaru's kicks and an Ice Spear from Aokiji. Holly deflected the brunt of the attack with a wave, which was frozen, and Marco took the rest of the hit. Some stray chunks of lava fell onto and unfroze some of the ocean.

"We can't continue like this. There's almost no water left that I can use. That Aokiji is a damn pain in the neck for me. And I feel bad that you have to continuously take the hits."

"Kagerou!"

The huge raging fire that landed on the ice caused it to melt instantly. Holly dived into the water, while Marco took to the sky. Bubbles of air in the water around her whizzed about excitedly as she swam up.

_Finally… Idiot Freckles, you took long enough._

She resurfaced, and stood besides Ace and Marco who were standing opposing the Admirals.

"Now the odds are even. I'll take the idiot light man." Marco grinned.

"Oh, you're so scary~ Whitebeard Pirates First Division Commander Marco~"

"I'll deal with Icy." Ace grinned and cracked his knuckles, a couple of stray flames flickering on his upper body.

"Oioi… You might be fire, but that doesn't mean you have a secure victory."

"And… I'll take Bakainu out." Holly smirked as the admiral in question lifted his head.

"Don't get cocky, scum."

_The entire plaza tensed as they watched the scene. For the pirates, it was their three top fighters who weren't captains, and for the marines, their hopes were riding on the stars of the Marine force. _

_Three extremely large duels were about to take place. And it would be dangerous just watching from the sides._

Dictionary-

Jiji- Gramps, not disrespectful on it's own, but Ace adds 'baka' to make it into an insult.

Bakayaro- Stupid fool

Bakainu- A play on the epithet 'akainu' which means red dog. Here, Holly has changed it to stupid dog.

KWEHEHEHEHE (Zomg I'm sounding like Carue XD) BAKAINU XD LOVE THAT NAME~!

R&R~ :)


	15. Climax of the War

Chapter 14- Climax of the Storm

I'm not exceptionally good at writing fights, but I tried my best~ ;). Also, please count it as the parts of the duels I've written are not the entire fight. This is because they all started at relatively the same time. I'm just not good at writing fight scenes :(

E.g. : Ace and Aokiji's duel was happening at the same time as Marco and Kizaru's so when the story view shifts to the next duel, some time has passed since the start of their duel. (That means the most time passed for Holly and Akainu.)

Psps, I haven't been uploading because I've been procrastinating ;) Sorry about that~!

_Sabaody Archipelago- War Broadcast area_

_Reporters and civilians alike watch the screen, alert. A battle between the marine's and the pirate's top fighters is about to take place. This is the climax of the war, the turn of events that will decide the fate of each opposing force. _

_On the battlefield itself, those who were previously fighting now watch, apprehensive. The two leaders of each side look on, silent in deep thought. Tension has reached a record high in the war._

_And the six fighters, that stand facing their respective opponents. Not one of them is an amateur in fighting. This is anyone's battle. And then, they clash. _

Marco charges at Admiral Kizaru, and they take off to one part of the battlefield.

Aokiji tries freezing Ace, who only melts his ice and the pair consumed in their battle, shift to another side of Marineford.

Finally, the last pair is left there.

Akainu looks at Holly, who holds her gaze steady and level with him.

"I don't suppose you intend on moving from the ocean?"

"Why would I, Bakainu? Still, I've wanted to fight you, since you're supposed to be the Marine's top emissary of your messed up justice."

"You will regret crossing me."

Both of them charge at each other, magma and ocean clashing, resulting in towers of steam rising to the dark sky.

_Kizaru vs. Marco_

_The pair of them is fighting near the watchtower, where Kizaru sits. Marco flies in the skies nearby. _

Marco charges at his opponent, slashing at him with a Haki imbued wing. Kizaru narrowly evades it, but gets a small cut on his cheek.

"You Whitebeard Pirates are scary~"

"That's what you get for picking a fight with us."

Kizaru shoots a beam of light at Marco, who dodges it and it flies into a Marine battleship, which explodes on contact.

"You shouldn't have dodged that~ Yasakani no Magatama~!"

The admiral starts to fire a flood of light beams at the commander. Marco deflects the light rain, his Haki managing to overpower it, but apparently leaves himself open to an attack.

"I wonder… Have you ever felt a kick at the speed of light~?"

Kizaru appears right behind Marco, and his leg is raised, glowing brightly. His blow is just about to connect with Marco, but the pirate smirks.

"Baka. You think I didn't see you? Fushichou Noroi!"

Waves of blue flames shoot out from him in the shape of a hectagon, engulfing the light kick the Nano-second it is fired, and even throws the admiral away into the ocean.

"You were lucky this time~" The light man calls out before he drops into the water.

Marines, alarmed by this, dive into the water to rescue the sinking Admiral.

_Kizaru vs. Marco- Victor: Marco_

…

_Aokiji vs. Ace_

_In the plaza, the two of them face each other. Flames dance around the 2__nd__ Division Commander, whereas the Admiral has partially turned to ice. Around them, Marines and Pirates alike stay a distance from them, for fear of being caught in the fray._

"Tonkyou Kasai!"

Ace fully transforms into a column of fire, shooting out random flames. Aokiji somehow manages to freeze them mid-air. It is a strange phenomenon, to see fire that is encased in ice. The fire does not extinguish, and yet the ice doesn't melt.

Aokiji turns his two arms into spears of ice, and charges straight at Ace, who has become a normal human again. Ace turns both of his arms into fire, and parries Aokiji's arms.

The two elements are plunged into tug of war, ice threatening to freeze fire, while the fire to melt ice. Normally, a weak user of either devil fruit would succumb to the other. But these are experienced fighters, and neither is ready to yield to their opponent.

Finally, they repel each other, their brief clash having no winner. Ace goes for a low sweeping attack, attempting to knock Aokiji off his feet. However, the admiral guesses his intentions a split second before Ace connects his blow with him, and uses the CP9 technique 'Soru' to dodge the move.

Getting behind Ace, he seizes the opportunity to encase his opponent in ice. He grabs Ace by the shoulder, who is caught off guard by the admiral.

"Ice Time!"

Ace slowly becomes an ice statue, frozen over by the ice.

"I don't feel in the mood to destroy you. Whether you get destroyed by others, that depends on your fate."

He begins walking away, until suddenly he feels a hot blast of fire on his back.

"What the-?"

He turns around, and sees Ace grinning away, flames flickering around him.

"Wari, but that was your mistake. Fire always triumphs over ice in nature. Dai Enkai: Entei!"

Ace attacks the admiral with his strongest attack, and Aokiji is blown away by the impact. The flames of the commander completely engulf whatever ice remains on the battlefield.

_Aokiji vs. Ace- Victor: Ace_

…

_Akainu vs. Holly_

_And finally, the last pair faces each other by the ocean. What used to be a stone ledge of Marineford that faced the ocean has now become a wasteland of lava. The water that touches the lava instantly evaporates, forming huge clouds of burning hot steam. No one dares to even come anywhere near these two, it would be certainly life-threatening. _

"You're the strongest amongst the admirals aren't you?" Holly asks her opponent, a thin trail of blood lining her chin.

"That's up to you to decide. However, I think you're the weakest of those pirates."

Holly is rather worn-out from the duel. She is bleeding, and her shoulder had received a burn wound from a stream of lava that she hadn't completely evaded.

He sends a fist of lava at her, which she is again unable to dodge fully. It grazes her hip, but even then she clenches her teeth to avoid screaming in agony. Then she stands up and causes a small tsunami to crash upon him. However, he easily burns a hole right through it.

"Why do you bother fighting? There is no hope for you to defeat me."

_It's true, _she thinks, _I can't possibly win against him. But… _

"It's because I have nakama to fight for! If I surrender to you, I won't be able to call myself their nakama. But because I know that they're there, fighting as hard as I am, I won't die!"

"I'll crush that stupid love you have for them. Chichuu Kazan!"

The ocean began to rumble, and suddenly she saw why. Magma was rising from the bottom of the ocean, and it was rising fast.

Everyone heard her scream as the lava made contact with her. Every Whitebeard Pirate looked towards the origin of the scream in shock.

"No way…! Holly was…!"

Ace didn't stop to think at all. He ran through the marines, knocking those who stood in his path away. All he could do was run towards Holly, his rage a blinding storm.

For Holly, lay floating on the ocean, bleeding and burnt. Not dead, but not very alive either. And Akainu stood near her, a triumphant sneer on his face.

_Akainu vs. Holly- Victor: Akainu_

BOO! HISS! DEATH TO BAKAINU!

Huh…? Oh oops I got ahead of myself there :3 (how embarrassing)

You know, just a random piece of info, I had actually first planned to make this story into a tragedy, Romeo and Juliet style. :( But in the end I decided I wanted a happy ending :)

Anyway, as usual I hope you liked it, and I shall make sure Bakainu get's his ass kicked BIG TIME :D

Oh yes, I used Japanese for all the attacks listed here, except for Aokiji's Ice Time which is in English, just FYI it's what he used to turn Robin and Luffy into ice statues the first time the crew (except Robin) met him. The reason I used Japanese is that it sounds cooler, and like I think I said in chapter 4 or something, I like using the Japanese words. XD

Dictionary-

Soru- a CP9 technique in which the user dodges an attack by moving extremely fast. First used by the CP9 (Cipher Pol 9), now used by marines as well.

Wari- Informal way of saying sorry, is not used when making actual sincere apologies.

Yasakani no Magatama- One of Kizaru's attacks. I'm really not in the mood to translate it, but it's named after one of the seven great treasures, so check the Wiki if you're interested! Remember when Marco defended Whitebeard from Kizaru during the war, and also revealing his devil fruit's power? Yeah it was that attack.

Fushichou Noroi- Okay I made this one up, basically it translates into Phoenix Curse. Mehhhhh I won't explain much, since I'm not too sure about Marco's powers myself :)

Tonkyou Kasai- Translates as wild fire, another made up one. Well it might be the same as one of his own but I'm too lazy to go check now, maybe I will another time when I update my chapters again.

Dai Enkai: Entei- Ace's ultimate technique, translated as Great Flame Emperor. He conjures a colossal ball of fire and throws it at his terribly unfortunate opponent.

Chichuu Kazan- Bakainu's (I'm trying really hard not to type this in the actual story except for dialogue…) attack, yet another made up one. It translates into Underground Volcano, literally. I kind of got the 'Kazan' part from another of his stupid attacks :)

Did I miss any out~? Tell me if I did, I'll be happy to add it in for the benefit of other readers too! :)


	16. Shocking Truth! A Mother's Sacrifice!

Chapter 15- Shocking Truth! Mother's Sacrifice

This chapter is one of my faves~ :) I hope you enjoy it!

"It turns out you were just talking big. Although you did last longer than most." The admiral sneered at Holly's limp form while she floated on the calm ocean.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flaming figure running towards him. The commander had a look of pure rage in his eyes. The cries from his nakama fell on deaf ears. The only thing he could think of was to protect Holly.

He charged at the admiral who easily knocked him aside. And still, he came back for a second blow. Preparing to kill, the admiral held out his fist, completely transformed into lava.

The pirate completely disregarded the safety of himself. He was so close to impaling Ace. And then, movements a blur, something else got in the way. And Ace stopped his blind charge, the shock consuming him.

_For Holly had taken the blow for him, her entire right shoulder had been speared through by Akainu's lava fist._

"Sorry Freckles… you're not allowed to die just yet."

Ace couldn't find any words to express his disbelief, and instead just stared at her with an utterly shocked face.

She tried to smirk, but her face was plainly contorted with pain. Akainu's fist glowed prominently on her shoulder. The next wave of blazing pain surged through her shoulder; she scrunched her eyes tight and bit her lip.

Even though the pain wasn't killing her, she knew a fist of lava in her shoulder wasn't anything to leave there for a while. With that sole thought in mind, she yanked her shoulder away from Akainu's fist, and in the process let out a piercing scream of agony.

Holly's breathing was ragged with pain, and even though it was hard to see them, hot tears were mingling with the beads of sweat on her face.

The blood from her wound gushed out like a merciless river. Any normal person would've fainted simply from the pool of blood that was being fed by the steady drip of the sticky red liquid from her arm.

And still she stood, maintaining her vicious gaze with the admiral.

The admiral's expression was one of annoyance as he violently jerked back his arm.

"You're just like your mother, always getting in the way."

Holly's blood froze upon hearing the word 'mother'. She looked up, staring straight into the admiral's cruel cold eyes.

"What do you mean mother?"

"Oh of course, it must come as a surprise for you. I had a daughter. And that daughter was your mother."

Holly absolutely refused to believe her ears. People who were listening took the news with as much surprise as she did. Even Sengoku had a slight frown on his face, the knowledge apparently just as new to him as the spectating fighters.

"You're… you're lying…"

"Why would I lie about this? Your existence is my blunder. Today, I will kill you, and finally I will be in peace."

"I don't… I don't remember my mother…what do you mean… blunder?"

Ace could see the shattered look in her eyes. Whatever Holly had been expecting from the admiral, this wasn't amongst them. And to hear someone related to her call her their blunder, how much the scars of her greatest pain would be hurting again.

"I wanted to get rid of your mother because she married a pirate! A shame to my name she was, and so are you. Because that bitch got in the way, I wasn't able to kill you. But her end was fitting, impaled by lava. Do you remember her scream? It was what kept me going, to hunt you down and finally kill you, even if you were part of the shichibukai."

He laughed, voice laced with poisonous venom. And suddenly, Holly knew. The scream that she heard in her dream on board the Merry, and then from the accursed Nightmare Flower. Even if she had only been three at the time, that incident had been embedded somewhere deep inside her memory, and now it was resurfacing, becoming clearer.

…

(A/N This flashback is what he tells her. Like the style of chapter 2, Ace tells Marco about Holly.)

_White Ember Island, South Blue, 17 years ago._

"Mama! I found a shell!"

A three-year-old Holly ran into a wooden house, crying out with delight. In her hands was a small conch shell, which had a faded shine to it. A woman, Holly's mother, with hazel hair like her daughter's and a matching pair of eyes turned around from her cooking smiling warmly.

"It looks beautiful. But it's very late now, you should go to bed soon."

She walked the little girl to a bedroom, which had a single bed and a double bed. Adorning the space around the single bed were many differently shaped and coloured shells.

"Can you sing the lullaby for me? The one about shells?" asked Holly as she pulled the patched up blanket over herself.

"Of course. You make this rundown house look absolutely wonderful with all these colorful shells you find you know?"

The bright eyed three year old smiled from the compliment, and her mother began to sit down on the bed.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from the front of the house, followed by a sickening thud. Mother and daughter instantly arose from the bed, and ran to the source of the disturbance.

When they came into the front room the first thing that struck the young girl was her father, crumpled on the floor, silent and unmoving. But for the woman, it was the figure that stood by the doorframe, shadows cast across his face. She felt the acrid taste of fear creep up her throat.

"Mama! Why's papa lying on the floor? Is he okay?"

But her mother did not answer her. In one quick sweeping movement, she lifted up her daughter, and exited through the back door, only concentrating on her child's safety. She heard loud noises behind her, and then saw the entire shack alight.

The large ominous figure walked over to them, his fist glowing with magma.

"I told you… not to marry that pirate. But instead of listening to me, you have a child with him, you useless daughter!"

Thunder cracked overhead, and rain began falling down in sheets. Still the man came closer and closer, his fists burning brighter and brighter.

And yet, faced with certain death, the woman stood her ground, before pushing her daughter into the swiftly moving waters of the choppy ocean. This action apparently enraged the magma man, who charged swiftly at the young mother.

"You aren't even worthy to be called my daughter! I'm going to kill you here and now for biting the hand that fed you!"

"Mama run!"

Holly's mother turned around, her eyes glittering with teardrops, and her lips forming a gentle smile.

"You're such a beautiful child. Grow up and live your life for me… I love you."

As Holly was swept out further into the raging sea, she felt a wave knock her aside. But while she didn't see it, she heard her mother scream as the lava impaled her chest. And then, swept away by the waves, she heard her mother's murderer curse at the wind, before finally she lost consciousness.

…

_Back in the Present_

Holly dropped to the ground, the grief and shock she felt threatening to swallow her up. Like the dark waves on that ocean so many years ago that had saved her life. She covered her face briefly,

And then, she faced the man who had killed her mother, the hatred she felt even more immense than her despair. She now despised this antagoniser with such heightened rage, with such a deeper, personal grudge.

"All those years…! I thought she had abandoned me… All I remembered was being thrown into the ocean… And I thought… I thought I was unwanted! But the truth is you killed her… You took the mother who loved me away from me!"

Tears were streaming down from her olive green eyes. Subconsciously, she fingered her hair carefully, as if remembering her mother.

"Since you want her so much… You can die the same way she did and join her in hell!"

The admiral charged at her, aiming for a fatal blow to her chest, like the one that finished off her mother.

Suddenly a large wall of fire blocked the lava fist. Ace stood behind it, holding on with much effort creased on his face, while the lava expanded into a huge wave. Finally the wave consumed the flames, and Ace was sent flying across the stone plaza. One could see Whitebeard beginning to worry, and the great pirate jumped off from his ship.

Still, the Admiral took no notice of him, and began walking towards the Second Division Commander who was sprawled on the floor, struggling to stand up. "Perhaps you'd like to die first, son of Roger? I will destroy all of this world's scum today! Every last pirate and demon!"

The madness that glinted in his eyes was unmistakable. His will to destroy them all was full of spite and insanity. Aokiji looked at his colleague, and some of his own words to a young Nico Robin came into mind.

"_Absolute Justice can drive a man crazy."_

The admiral saw that senseless wish to just destroy. Destroy even the tiniest shadow of darkness that tried to hide. This justice wasn't human; it disagreed with every form of human morality. Aokiji made up his mind right there and then. He would resign from the Marines, and stay away from such a dark form of Justice.

But then, as Akainu charged towards Ace, he provoked Whitebeard into showing real anger at his precious son's apparent predicament. However a giant wave of water knocked the admiral off his course. The 'strongest pirate' stopped in his wake, knowing that he need not step in just yet. Everyone else who watched, be they pirates or marines, felt their eyes and mouths wide open. None of them were able to say anything for such a long time.

The object of their utter shock was non-other than a towering form, much taller than even the Navy HQ. Entirely made out of seawater, the only word that could describe it would be 'demon'. Even then, one wasn't quite sure if that lone word was sufficient. And in this colossal monstrosity's center, Holly. She had conjured up this immense leviathan, albeit her severe wounds.

One could swear that her own eyes were filled with only one desire. To destroy anything that threatened those it loved.

"Final Form! Mizu Oni!"

End of Chapter 15

Keeps I wasn't really sure what Holly's first name, or her mum's name should've been, so I didn't mention them. (I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to names) Lemme say this one thing. Bakainu is in the deepest shit there ever was. :D

Dictionary-

Mizu Oni- Water Demon

(Just in case you haven't heard the word before):

Leviathan- Something huge


	17. The Power To Crush even Darkness

Chapter 16- Power to Crush even Darkness

I've noticed I've been using more descriptive language in recent chapters… Haha I guess it's a good thing :)

"_Final Form! Mizu Oni!"_

Akainu stared blankly at Holly's new giant form, before standing up and dusting his hat, confidence regained.

"So what if you've grown a little? You are still the same weakling inside. I'll defeat you as many times as it takes to finally kill you."

The admiral didn't know just how wrong he could be.

His fist turned into lava, but from his body, smaller chunks of lava flew towards the giant figure. The ground nearby began to melt from the sheer heat, the admiral leaving nothing but destruction in his wake.

And yet, the intensive blow did nothing but evaporate into steam as it came into contact with the surface of the swiftly moving water.

"What-?" Akainu began, but he would never finish his sentence. He was hurled across the plaza in a blinding torrent of a wave, crashing straight into the Navy HQ.

The impact from the Admiral's landing lead to a large split right through the middle of the building, much to the shock of every single Marine that watched. As the building began to fall, marine soldiers scurried out of the way of the falling debris.

Meanwhile, an extremely pissed off, and bleeding Akainu had lifted himself up from the rubble, fully transforming into lava. One could see a sort of face on that figure, his eyes burning slightly brighter than the rest of the lava.

Fear had settled on most of the marine soldiers present like the morning fog, unprecedented and cold like an icy breath, only the more hardened marines did not cower in fear of the admiral. It didn't matter if you were a Marine or even a Tenryubito, nothing could get in his way when he was that determined to destroy someone.

"INUGAMI GUREN!"

The admiral roared, his voice sounding like a thousand rolls of thunder, as his lava expanded into the unearthly appearance of a savage dog, or more accurately a Hellhound, the gatekeeper of Hades.

"I AM JUSTICE! DO YOU THINK YOUR MISERABLE ATTEMPTS TO FIGHT THE WORLD WILL EVER SUCCEED? I WILL DESTROY YOU, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU STAY DESTROYED! WHETHER YOU SPIT IN THE FACE OF ABSOLUTE JUSTICE, OR CARRY THE BLOOD OF A DEMON, IT DOESN'T MATTER! I WILL ANNIHILATE YOU ALL!"

The large hellhound of magma was causing some of the stone floor of the plaza to melt and the entire Marineford was heated up, as if they were all sitting around a large volcanic crater.

"KEEP THAT FOUL MOUTH OF YOURS SHUT! I WON'T HEAR ANOTHER WORD ABOUT YOUR STUPID JUSTICE! THEY'RE ALL LIES! LIES THAT THE GOVERNMENT COOKS UP TO KILL INNOCENTS OR THOSE WHO INDIRECTLY THREATEN THEM! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF COWARDS, HIDING BEHIND THIS LOAD OF SHIT!"

Holly's voice resonated throughout the entire island. But something else struck the Whitebeard Pirates. Everyone had darkness in his or her hearts, and they had just seen what hid in Holly's. The pain that really hid behind her heart, inside some dark corner of her life.

_Holly had only just realised what that darkness was herself. _

Suddenly, the ocean all around Marineford for miles and miles came surging forward in great speed. It rose to the water demon, and became something that vaguely resembled a sword. With one clean stroke, it sliced the magma dog into half, and it consequently dropped to the ground in a puddle.

This stopped the admiral clean in his tracks, completely caught off-guard by this turn of events. His mouth opened with shock, but he could never voice it.

_Swoosh!_

The sword was thrown out of the water demon's hand, and flew straight at the admiral. He received a direct blow, and was sent pummeling straight into the sea, and began sinking because he was a hammer.

Just at that moment, an immense guillotine blade of lightning streaked across the sky, and illuminated it with stark blue-whiteness. It was followed with more equally terrifying arrows of electricity.

It was as if the skies were being torn apart by the jagged spears of lightning- the thunder was howling its pain.

Anyone watching would feel a chill that crept up their bones, down to their very soul. It was as if the heavens themselves were heralding the start of something big.

The only person to not be negatively affected by the turn of events would be a certain Shichibukai who was watching from his position, grinning away.

"So the demon finally awakened! And soon, the New Era will follow. This will be extremely interesting… Fufufufufufu… "

In the meantime, the Fleet Admiral was having very different thoughts regarding the situation.

"I knew that the hidden destructive power of that devil fruit was great… But… I never would've thought…!"

The sea began to lurch and Akainu was thrown, unconscious, into the center of the plaza, almost as if the ocean had completely rejected him.

Just as everything began to sink in, laughter rang out through the plaza. For many a Whitebeard pirate, as well as Luffy, it was painfully familiar. Although for Ace, this was much more than that. He instantaneously turned onto the source of the laughter, eyes filled with loathing.

"Teach! Are you here to gloat upon your victory you bastard?"

The pirate stood upon the left side of the Navy HQ. Marines became increasingly alarmed when they recognized some scandalous characters beside him. Vasco Shot, San Juan Wolf and Catrina Devon were some of the names they shouted in terror. All of them should've been currently locked up in the deepest levels of Impel Down.

"Zehahahaha! No, although, I had come expecting a much different scene. With all the blundering idiots in that old geezer's crew, I had thought that all of you would be defeated by now. Who would've thought that Holly would've turned out to be the strongest amongst you?"

He paused to laugh some more, his insult to the Whitebeard Pirates not gone on deaf ears, before turning to the female pirate.

"Holly! How about you join my crew and rule the new world?"

The giant figure turned towards Teach, eyes glaring, as they always seemed to be. But inside the water demon, Holly's own eyes were recalling everything Teach had done, from murdering Thatch to turning in Ace.

"Go to hell Teach. It's where a demon like you really belongs."

"No? Pity, for you that is. Then, I'll just have your powers join me! This should be such a privilege for you, to be defeated by the future Pirate King! Black… Hole!"

The dark vacuum he created in the plaza began sucking in everything around it, from people to buildings to the ocean around Marineford. Many of those who witnessed his powers cowered in fear, having never seen anything like it before.

On the Sabaody Archipelago war broadcast site there was complete pandemonium. It had started as a minor panic when they had realized that Akainu was being defeated. But now, there were two pirates with completely inhuman powers even compared to usual Devil Fruit users. Not to mention the Marines weren't doing very well either. It was more of the pirates wiping the floor with them than the strong righteous heroes defeating the pirates they had believed in.

Most of them were making a run for it, fleeing from the place. Who knew whether that pirate, Blackbeard, would come to the archipelago next? And if he did, they would be finished. Apart from some citizens who wanted to stay, only the few brave reporters remained, in hopes of getting the full coverage of the war, as well as the few Supernovas who had been watching from a distance, quietly observing the events of the war.

Back on Marineford, Blackbeard's void had begun to finalize. Most pirates had either retreated to the safety of their ships or been caught in the hole. The Marines weren't half as lucky. Their ships were quite far off, so only a lucky or agile few could make it to the warships. Amidst this precious little group were The Royal Shichibukai, Fleet Admiral, Garp and his two sergeants, as well as the two remaining Admirals.

In the plaza itself, very few people had managed to hold their footing. Akainu had been amongst the first to be sucked into the vacuum, a sitting duck for it. Amongst some of the only pirates remaining were Holly, Ace, Luffy and Sabo. All the other commanders were safely aboard one of the pirate ships, fortunately.

Holly was slowly but surely being dragged into the dark sphere that Blackbeard created.

The oceans around Marineford had been rather unbalanced before Blackbeard had started this chaos. But now, it was every navigator's nightmare, the sea threatening to bring the ships that bobbed up and down on the roaring sea down in a watery grave.

Then it happened. Holly, along with her mighty water demon, was drawn into the void. The eerie silence that followed that moment lingered before Teach broke into laughter, believing to have won.

"Finally! The legendary power of the sea will soon be at my disposal! Zehahahaha!"

The black hole began to tremble slightly, and then it began quaking more and more prominently. A little caught off guard, Teach looked at the sphere, confused and worried.

And suddenly, the sphere exploded, releasing all of those trapped inside, albeit sending them flying in many directions. The water demon stood tall and furious, before turning on Teach. In all its might and wrath, Blackbeard and his remaining crew, even the giant, were swept into the ocean.

"How could you possi-" He began, before a wave washed over him, and his unfinished sentence came out with sounds somewhere along the lines of 'glubbabub'.

Eventually, he and his crew washed up onto the plaza, unconscious and defeated. Akainu lay beside them, still knocked out, and around them were the previously trapped pirates and marines, all a little tipsy, staggering around like drunkards. Then again, anyone would be dazed if they had been sucked into a black hole, and then thrown out forcefully immediately afterwards.

_Akainu vs. Holly vs. Blackbeard- Victor: Holly_

But right now, none of that mattered to Ace. What was worrying him deeply was Holly, collapsing, while the water demon finally fell, and the water it was made up of receded into the still violent ocean. She lay on the plaza floor, deathly silent and unmoving.

Is she dead you ask? I won't say~ Altho I already mentioned that it'll be a happy ending! :) But of course if you're dying to know what actually happens, I promise to upload tomorrow's chapter soon! I may do an epilogue, but I also need to start on the sequel soon!

Oh yeah I know Teach originally stole Whitebeard's power with that weird-ass black cloth, but anyway, I'm thinking along the lines of he needs to kill Holly first right? I mean he only took Whitebeard's power once said pirate died. So yeah his Black holes are quite hazardous to your health, last I checked. :)

Another note, I'm not really sure how Holly actually shouts/speaks through the water… made a hole or something… hmmm… * trails off into own world *.

Dictionary:

Inugami Guren- One of Akainu's attacks bla bla dog something I already explained it ;)

Haha but really, check the wiki if you're interested~!


	18. The End Of The War

Chapter 17- The End of The War!

I LOVEEE~ THIS CHAPTER :)! HURRY UP AND READ IT TOO~! :)

~

_"Well Freckles! Become a great pirate!"_

"Yeah! You too Holly! I'll see you on the greatest ocean imaginable!"  


It was quite the sight to behold. Marineford had been completely and utterly ravaged. Every marine observed his or her surroundings, jaws wide open. Sengoku was hardly an exception. Then again, you couldn't blame the Fleet Admiral for not expecting a power nearly, if not as destructive as the Gura Gura no Mi.

The navy HQ was a wreck, with hundreds of odd-sized stones surrounding what remained of the building, iron building frames were some of the few things that hadn't been destroyed.

Even darkness had been no match for that demon everyone had seen. Blackbeard and his crew were strewn on the remnants of the plaza. Embarrassingly for the Marines, so was their very own Admiral Sakazuki.

But these were the least of the Whitebeard Pirates Second Division Commander's concerns. The object of his undivided attention was the cause of all the damage; a single twenty year old girl. If you hadn't witnessed the spectacle, one would have considerable difficulty accepting that she had previously split the Navy HQ in two.

However, that girl lay quite motionless and harmless quite now. Even when Ace had rushed over to her side, and held her limp form in his arms, she simply did not move.

"You're okay right? Ne… Holly!"

Holly lay still, the tiniest of smiles on her face.

"Oi... Stop giving me the silence kay...?"

He clutched her wrist. No pulse.

A trail of tears shone bright and clear on his cheek. Luffy and Sabo slowly came near. Although to most this was of varying degrees of surprise, to the brothers who had grown up with Ace found him crying to be a definite cause for concern.

"Well say something! This was… supposed to be my execution right? You don't just come to fight a war and die right in front of me!"

People, regardless whether they were pirates or marines, were dropping their weapons.

Simultaneous clatters could be heard reverberated throughout the entire plaza. Some, who had been cowering on the ground, were standing up, seeing that the ordeal was finally over.

The pain of his grief was filling his chest like a dull ache. Ace tried speaking again, but his voice came out as a choking plead.

"Please… Don't just leave me behind…!"

Whitebeard pirates were all beginning to dip their heads, seconds drawing on into minutes.

"Because…" He bit his bottom lip, knowing full well that everything was being broadcast to the world, " 'cause… All that time we spent together! Every little thing we did for each other… every little moment we spent together… meant the world to me…! Holly… I love you!"

He had said it. Who cared what the world thought as they watched this? That's what she had told him, to ignore their judging views. And he had told her everything that he wanted to say in those three words.

The bottomless silence seemed to kill him. Had that confession gone on deaf ears? This wasn't a fairy tale, but even then, he wouldn't accept anything along the lines of death. She couldn't just die right...? Didn't pirates have happy endings too...?

Then suddenly, he saw it. That tiny twitch in her fingers… the minute rising and falling of her chest. He was blinked hard, afraid to believe anything in case he was disappointed. But then he realized, that she was truly stirring, truly alive.

Holly gave a small cough, before weakly smirking at him.

"It took you one heck of a long time to say that, Freckles."

At first, the Whitebeard pirates and their allies had no idea what to do. Then they were cheering loudly, hugging each other with joy. Ace felt so much relief wash over him, he could drown in it. Happy tears sprung to his eyes, washing out the tears of grief that had previously been there.

He hugged her, though ever careful not to hurt her weak body, that was shuddering a little.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again you hear? I swear you'll get a punishment scarier than death if you do! And no more water demons! If you go into that form again I'll-"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence. That was because she had pulled him close and brought him into a long kiss, one that he would not forget to save his life. When she finally stopped, she was grinning, enjoying his surprised face, which had flushed a deep shade of red.

"I get it Mummy Freckles. By the way, I love you too."

The Second Division Commander was feeling mixed emotions of embarrassment and joy. His nakama were laughing and cheering all the while, clapping. The marines, on the other hand, stared at them in shock horror. Fleet Admiral Sengoku's reaction was absolutely priceless, his jaw dropping as low as it did.

Garp was the only marine to laugh along heartily with the pirates, followed up with a "SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!" from Sengoku.

"Naughty girl… I'm supposed to be the one silencing you with a kiss, not vice versa."

Holly grinned and stuck out her tongue at Ace.

On Sabaody Archipelago, the women were absolutely beside themselves, treating the last few minutes as if it were a drama. Reporters were scribbling down millions of notes. Tomorrow's headlines… Well it was to say the least, an unexpected turn of events.

And on the large screen, Ace and Holly were declaring the war over. The pirates had technically won, but they had no reason to take the fight any further. Much to the relief of civilians, Blackbeard and his crew were shackled with Kairoseki and taken away.

One would even say that the Marines hadn't completely lost either. That one girl who had defied the Marines had changed the outcome of the war. She didn't want violence; all she wanted was to stop meaningless bloodshed over even more unimportant things.

Perhaps, justice wasn't what one might've first believed it to be. For a couple of seconds, the screen flashed to show the defeated Akainu. He was the very embodiment of absolute justice that day; cast aside and defeated.

But who can say what justice really is? No one can say that it is justice when you kill a man for his father's sins. Neither can one say that justice is simply a marine arresting a pirate.

Justice isn't something your average person can grasp in a second. It isn't evil, nor is it necessarily something that one would feel proud of. But I can't tell you what to believe. Justice is, this I know, is something different for each individual. What you might see as right, someone may see as evil. Be true to your own sense of justice.

~The End of Story~

OK FIRST OFF. I WAS NOT TRYING TO SOUND LIKE LE FLAMINGO AT THE END.  
(If you know what I mean…)

Now that that's out of the way, I really hope you all enjoyed this story! I for one really enjoyed writing it~! And I will be releasing the sequel soon, if you want to know when exactly, subscribe to this story (if you haven't already done so), and I will post an update when the first chapter is out. Also, this story isn't entirely finished; there is one last 'chapter', an epilogue. Please read, and once again, thank you so much all for reading this aspiring author's work~! :)


	19. Epilouge

_Epilogue _

_On board the celebrating Whitebeard Pirates ship…_

_The pirates had all left Marineford without any trouble. The marines had hardly been in any state to defeat them, what with all their destroyed weaponry. _

_And of course, they had such a high morale; any Marine that had attempted to get in the way would be simply flattened by the pirates, who were throwing Ace and Holly into the air, shouting their names. They had won, and nothing the World Government could say and lie about would ever change that._

_Luffy had come along with them, and he now stood facing his brothers and Holly, in a quieter spot of the ship away from the party._

"Ace… I couldn't save you… When I went into Impel Down, the warden easily defeated me… I was too weak. And then I couldn't protect my nakama either! On Sabaody Archipelago… we were defeated by those pacifistas…"

Ace gave a small smile. He knew very well what was going on in his younger brother's head. Just like that day on that cliff back on their island, so many years ago, when they thought that they had lost Sabo.

"Where are your nakama now?"

"I dunno, but we promised to meet up back on the Archipelago in three days…"

They were interrupted by a sudden splash of water, and a white haired man jumped onto the deck, dripping a little. He wrung his coat dry over the ocean. Judging by the smile on Luffy's face, Ace knew that the man posed no direct threat; but he wasn't entirely happy to learn his identity either.

"Rayleigh-ossan! What are you doing here?" Luffy added, with a voice of concern now, "If you leave the Archipelago, won't the crew end up coming here?"

Rayleigh laughed. "No, I left my vivre card with Shakky. But Luffy… I have to tell you something."

Luffy tilted his head quizzically. However, Ace interrupted, frowning.

"You're Dark King Rayleigh aren't you? Roger's first mate?"

"Yes, that would be me. … I was watching the live broadcast from the Archipelago today. If you two are ever getting married…"

Ace was overcome with a new kind of annoyance. He had heard that line earlier from his nakama, not to mention in quite a great frequency. Holly's face took on a deep shade of red, although it wasn't quite visible in the dim lighting.

"WE ARE NOT, REPEAT NOT, GETTING MARRIED! IF I HEAR THAT ONE MORE TIME…"

The ex-pirate king's first mate laughed again, and then turned to Luffy.

"As I was saying, your crew would be wiped out in a matter of days if you headed into the New World now. Luffy, I'll be blunt. You are all too weak for that place in your current state."

Luffy looked downcast, knowing this to be true.

"Then what should we do?"

"I suggest… Separate for two years. All of you should train for say two years, and then reunite after that time. Boa Hancock has already told me, with great enthusiasm I should add, that you could use the island near Amazon Lily that's perfect for training."

"But how am I going to tell the others?"

The Dark King smiled. "I have a plan, if you're willing to hear it."

_And so, later that night…_

Ace, Sabo and Holly watch the formers' younger brother, who was waving goodbye enthusiastically, and Rayleigh head out to carry out the plan, a rather intelligent one indeed. Then again he was the right-hand man of the greatest pirate in history.

Sabo smiled and he jumped on top of the ship's railings.

"So Ace! I'm gotta go now, revolutionary stuff. Wish I could've stayed longer, but I'll see you guys soon, I'm sure!"

"Yeah! Don't die anymore okay? We'll have a duel the next time we meet."

The two brothers laughed, Sabo went off in a small boat that had been tied to the side of the Moby Dick, and soon he disappeared into the horizon too. Holly and Ace stood together quietly for a while, before Holly broke the silence.

"I wonder if his Luffy's crew will become stronger in two years?"

"Oh they will. He's my brother after all."

Holly playfully pinched his nose, smirking.

"And what exactly does being your brother guarantee? Last time I checked, it was you who was almost executed."

"To start off, I do have very good taste in girls…"

"Flattery will get you nowhere Freckles!"

He drew her forward into a passionate kiss, causing her to blush deeply before returning the kiss. When they finally came up for air, he was smirking.

"That's more like it."

Holly's mouth played into a pout and she opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a muffled sneeze. She turned around, frowning. Although it would at first glance appear like nobody was there, she looked closer and saw the silhouettes of quite a few pirates she could name.

"That's it! All of you out here, or bear the consequences! Haruta no sneaking away, I can see you clearly. Izo, stop pressing yourself against the floor, it's too obvious in that pink kimono."

The result was every other commander on board the ship standing before them, smiling sheepishly. Holly crossed her arms, a vein pulsing in her forehead.

"Right. Which one of you came up with this 'bright idea'? Out with it!"

All of the pirates pointed at each other, some even pointing at Ace. A very sinister smile appeared on Holly's face, her eyes gleaming.

"Is that so? Since you all can't come to an agreeable answer, we'll just have to do it the hard way. That would be giving you all a punishment." She turned to Ace with a look that clearly said 'you too', and without further warning, jumped back into the icy ocean.

At first, nothing happened, and some commanders cautiously approached the side of the boat to see what was happening. They would in the near future, wish they hadn't.

The water right besides the ship's hull was bubbling and rising fast. Those that had peered over the side of the deck received a mouthful of seawater. They fell over each other, coughing and spluttering. Unfortunately for them, that was only the beginning.

Those who remained standing turned quite pale indeed when they saw the fast approaching wave of icy water. It clashed upon the deck, soaking the entire group of spectators to their skin.

Holly reformed on the side of the deck, giggling away.

"Next time, I'll personally dunk every last one of you into the ocean. Devil Fruit users are not excluded!"

In response, the group gave a loud simultaneous groan.

"Ace… my sincerest condolences in advance."

"Shut up…"

_After a lot of drying up, the two lovers were now granted privacy. Word had quickly spread throughout the crew about the consequences of peeking. _

"Ne Ace… you think the Marines are gonna bitch about you escaping? I mean I wouldn't worry about Sengoku but the Gorosei won't take kindly to that humiliation."

"I wonder… But we'll deal with that when we get to it. Right now, I think we should sleep. It's pretty late, and most of the others have already turned in for the night. You can share my cabin with me, since you'd probably wake all the others up if you go to your hammock."

Holly looked at him skeptically, before smirking.

"Fine… But no funny business! If you try anything…" She pointed to the water gleefully.

He laughed nervously and carried her, like he had done in Alabasta ages ago. Holly tried struggling, but again she wasn't able to wriggle loose. Then her eyelids began to droop, and she yawned a little.

"Damn you… stupid…"

Ace walked towards his cabin as gently as he could. When he had finally put the sleeping Holly on his bed, he smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

"Night, sweet princess."

She mumbled something a long the lines of 'cheesy pickup lines', but fell back into her slumber.

…

Rays of sunlight streamed into the cabin, causing Holly to turn over in bed, moaning. But we all know what happens in situations like this. The sun seemed to shine even brighter, and eventually Holly sat up in frustration.

"Fine! Not even allowed to sleep in after nearly dying am I? Stupid sun!"

She noticed, with envy, that Ace had a large wooden tub of water in his cabin. Without second thoughts, she pulled her clothes off and dived into the bath, and reclined.

"If those idiots dare come in, I'll just toss them into the ocean, like I warned." She thought aloud.

Finally, she stood up and stretched. Her mind was now alerted after the warm shower. And she saw something very suspicious. A fresh set of clothes, which were her own, were lying in a neatly folded pile, as well as a towel.

_Freckles is trying awfully hard to be nice this morning. I wonder why…_

Without giving it much further thought, she put on the clothes, noting that it was her favourite crop top and tank, along with a pair of denim shorts.

_This is definitely very dubious. I remember personally telling him I liked this combination of clothes._

After she had finished changing, she looked around for her hair tie, to find that it wasn't there.

_Must've been burnt off by that bastard Admiral._

Finally, she pushed through the wooden door of the cabin, determined to find out why Ace had been pampering her that morning. What greeted her was quite unexpected. As she stepped out, she realised the entire crew was gathered outside, and they started cheering.

"Wha-?"

Before she could even finish her first word, she was swept off her feet and found herself looking directly into Ace's eyes. He was smiling, and somewhat surprised by all the attention, Holly's lips formed a small pout.

"And just what do you think you're doing? Why is the entire crew gathered outside my well your front door, including Oyaji?"

"Well, I don't think anyone wants to miss you becoming the new 4th division commander do they? Oh yes, I forgot to mention it last night, how careless of me."

The mischievous glint in his eyes told her otherwise. Still she couldn't help but break into a wide smile, while the rest of the crew applauded.

"Not fair, you get a bigger party than me when I became commander. I'm going to punish you, cheeky girl."

"Too bad Freckles! I've got other plans. But you know, you deserve a little something for being so nice to me this morning…"

She planted a gentle kiss on Ace's lip, and amidst all the laughter from the crew, she thought she heard someone else. The playful laugh that she hadn't heard for so many months, the one she missed so much. And then she thought she heard him speak.

"_Well, guess I'll be going now! By the way Holly, best of luck with Freckles! See you someday!"_

Holly blinked a few bittersweet tears out of her eyes, smiling widely. Then she turned around and looked at the crew, and Ace who was laughing. Thatch may have died, but his spirit was still living on in this crew.

"By the way Freckles… It's wonderful being back with everyone, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, it really is."

_~End of Epilogue~_

_Ok I know I have a few comments about Holly being a Mary-Sue~ I've taken note of that, and I'm going to make sure she isn't that powerful in the sequel. I'll post the update soon, and I'm starting on the first chapter already! _

_I only thought it was right for her to become 4__th__ Division Commander :) But I do miss Thatch as well. _

_I know some people wanted to see how I'd bring out Sabo, but damn I just sat staring at the screen for an hour trying to come up with something, to no avail, so really sorry about that. But I would like to say, he will come back in the sequel, introduced in more detail. I dunno if I'm going to do a Luffy meet Dragon scene or something… Maybe… heee :3 _

_So again, I'd like to thank everyone who enjoyed this story~! It was a pleasure writing this and reading all of your reviews! _

_I would also like to say that I will update this story once more to alert you to the sequel, so for those who are interested, please don't remove this from your alerts just yet! If you don't have a fanfiction account, just check frequently! _

_I'm also open to suggestions if you'd like a story with an OC! I'm quite new here, but I hope to write more, so I'm really open to new opportunities~! _

_Thanks everyone for all your support! ;)_

_-AXC333_


	20. UPDATE :D

~UPDATE~

OMG I'VE REALLY FINISHED THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SEQUEL! RECORD TIME! IT WILL BE UP SOON, I PROMISE!

But I'll give you guys a preview~! :)

The title is Kokoro no Aku, which is translated as Devil of the Heart. If you haven't already guessed, it ain't gonna be a sweet innocent little thing :)

Now the first chapter will be unseemingly deserving of the title, but it'll be getting darker after that.

Our new antagonist, Donqixote Doflamingo~! :)

Although I will include this in the description, I'd like to tell everyone that this story is NOT going according to the current story line. The main reason being is because of all the differences, the most major one would be Ace being alive :) (i.e Ace didn't die, whitebeard didn't die, fishman island still belongs to whitebeard pirates not big mom so yeah no declaring war on a stoopid yonkou.)

So therefore, I will not mention Punk Hazard or the whole Doflamingo is Joker thing. Not that I have a problem with that, it's just that I'll have to wait a very long time for the ending of this upcoming story saga.

Anyways, I hope you will enjoy it!

It'll be online today or tomorrow, depends on Fan Fiction! In fact, why don't you go search nowww and see if it's up. Thanks!

LOVE YOU ALL~! :)

Wao I used a lot of smilies :3


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